18 teens drop out of school due to pregnancy

EIGHT pupils aged between 14 and 16 at Dula Secondary School in Umzingwane, Matabeleland South have dropped out of school since the beginning of the year after they fell pregnant.

The development has baffled parents and teachers who have pointed fingers to some unruly herdboys who were luring the young girls to bush sex on their way from school in exchange for chips. It has also emerged that all the eight young girls who fell pregnant were having their school fees paid by the Campaign for Female Education (Camfed). The scheme also buys female pupils uniforms and toiletries.

Speaking at a meeting that was convened at the school last week to deliberate on the matter, Dula 4 headman Mr Simeon Sibanda accused herdboys from Binga who were in the habit of soliciting for sex from the pupils.

"The girls are being impregnated by boys from Binga who come here to herd cattle and we have asked people who employ these boys to stop it because it is affecting our children," he said.

School Development Committee secretary Mrs Sipho Dube said the girls were being lured into sex using Jumbo chips.

"Chips only cost 10 cents and the Binga boys should stop taking advantage of our children," she said.

The secretary said in most cases, the acccused boys would run away and go back to their area once they discover that they have impregnated the school girls. Parents said teachers must increase monitoring of the pupils at school to avoid such incidents.

Mrs Dube said most children at the school were from less privileged families.

Miss Nokuthula Sibanda, an official with Camfed said her organisation was now teaching pupils on sex related issues and were now visiting some schools at least once a week. She, however, said it was worrying that despite the teachings, some of the pupils were still involved in sex at such a young age. Camfed also carry out a feeding scheme for all pupils at Dula twice a week.

Villagers have built a clinic near the school which is also offering help to the pupils who would have been affected. However, Matabeleland South provincial education director Mrs Thumisang Thabela said she was not aware of the pregnancies at the school.