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COURTESY PHOTO By Erema George Arua City The school administration and management of Aripea secondary school in Terego district are blaming the parents for sidelining them in solving pregnancy cases involving students who conceive while at school. According to
COURTESY PHOTO
By Erema George
Arua City
The school administration and management of Aripea secondary school in Terego district are blaming the parents for sidelining them in solving pregnancy cases involving students who conceive while at school.
According to them, parents tent to handle issues relating to children who conceive during their school time culturally while their involvement would have an impact in deciding the fate of their studies after the pregnancy.
Bernard Aguta, the head teacher of Aripea secondary school expressed disappointment towards the action of neglecting the school administration despite playing a big role in shaping the future of the girls;
“When such things happen, parents seem to leave us aside. They don’t know that as educationists and as teachers we have a role to play. First of all this is a girl whom the parent left in our hands, we have been doing everything for her. Why do parents leave us out and go and settle the matter with the family of the boy who caused trouble to such a girl?” Aguta queried.
“Sometimes the parents make themselves very cheap by becoming so desperate. Parents of our girls don’t understand that the future of this very girl is not only worth seven hundred thousand shillings, these are people who can do wonders after education,” he exclaimed.
The head teacher of Aripea Secondary School, Bernard Aguta. (Photo by Erema).
Sections 3.1, 3.2, and 3.3 of Uganda’s Revised Guidelines for the Prevention and Management of Teenage Pregnancy in School Settings establish a framework for keeping pregnant girls and child mothers in school.
James Afadriayo, the Board of Governance (BOG) vice chairperson says girls who are already in school not only belongs to the parents alone, warning against taking the traditional way of settling the matter at homes denying the opportunity for the girl child to continue studying;
“This girl is already a student in a secondary school and that is already a Ugandan child, it’s no longer your child alone. We would like to ask the parents that once your daughter gets pregnant, please let the school administration be aware of what has happened and in handling it don’t go and handle it in a traditional way. You never know this girl has got this child by accident and may still have the interest to continue with her education.” Afadriayo stated.
While some families use marriage to escape social stigma or financial strain, global humanitarian data proves that treating pregnancy as the end of a child’s legal and educational development damages both the young mother and her community.