By Erick Nyayiera
Cabinet Secretary for Education Prof George Magoha has blamed the rising cases of teenage pregnancies in the country on irresponsible parenting.
Prof Magoha said many parents have abdicated their responsibilities of raising their daughters leaving them at the mercy of defilers.
Speaking in Bondo while inspecting preparedness of Technical Institutions in the region ahead of possible reopening in January next year, Magoha urged parents to take charge in raising their daughters.
The CS, however, rejected the notion that teenage pregnancies have been occasioned by lack of free sanitary towels especially during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“This idea that our girls are getting pregnant because of lack of sanitary towels is all hogwash. Parents must take responsibility of their children and the girls must be proud of what they have and not allow themselves to be lured into relationships that put their future at risk,” said Magoha.
He, however, disclosed that the government had launched a programme to provide free sanitary towels to school girls across the country long before the Covid-19 pandemic but there were challenges of the items reaching the girls when schools were abruptly closed to avert the spread of the virus.
“The government’s programme of free sanitary towels was providing each girl with a package that would last them for eight months and by March this year 80% of the teenage girls had received. The only problem is that the towels may have been shared by female family members in respective households but the government has lived to its promise of providing the towels,” said Magoha.
He urged the teenage girls to be cautious with anybody trying to lure them with goodies in exchange of sexual relationship.
Magoha advised school girls to be contented with what their families are giving them.
“Long ago before sanitary towels were available in the market, girls used to have their menstruation cycles but there was no crisis of teenage pregnancies because the girls were keen to protect their dignity,” added Magoha.
