By Jacktone Ambuka Mjumbe
In Kenya, your daughter [yes, you who is reading this] will get pregnant before completing primary or secondary school. That is if something is not done to reverse the trend.
That shocking finding was revealed by a study that was done by Kenya Demographic Health Survey (KDHS).
The study confirmed that 1 in 5 school girls get pregnant before completing primary or high school. And by the age of 16, your daughter has had numerous sexual encounters with one or more men.
Even the secretary of education Mrs. Amina Mohammad was petrified so much so that she launched an investigation.
Coming against the backdrop of a nation that considers itself Christian, its imperative to interrogate the role of faith or lack thereof in the lives of families and inculcating morals in the society.
It is also imperative to ask the difficult yet socially evaded question: Should we introduce our girls and boys for that matter to contraceptives and condoms in our pursuit of preventing teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases?
Most observers believe that teachers contribute about 30% to children’s [students] progress including moral standing. The rest of the percentage is contributed by peers and family [patents]. Don’t you think blaming teachers is overstepping boundaries? I’m wondering whether first people to take responsibility should be parents.
The problem is that most parents are so disengaged from their children’s lives and are oblivious to how much their children know and do. But like you say, change will start by acknowledging the statistics and working hard to reverse the trend.
N/B: The child leaves home at 5am and comes back at 6.39 pm. The child comes home with work load of home work which the child does till 9.30pm ( on the lower side). Then the child has to take dinner. Surely the day is finished. This happens Monday through Friday. On Saturday it is tuition. On Sunday it is tuition kwa mwalimu or mwalimu kwa akina mwanafunzi. During holidays there is no holiday because teachers are busy hunting for students to tuition. Surely the person who has ransomed our kids is the teacher.
What’s happening?
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