The rising number of teenage pregnancies among schoolgirls in Kajiado County has prompted education officials to call for urgent action to protect girls’ right to education and prevent school dropouts.
County Director of Education Dr Martin Cheruiyot urged government agencies, parents, community leaders and civil society organisations to work together to address teenage pregnancies, early marriages and gender-based violence.
“The situation here for our girls is not good. We need to do something better,” Dr Cheruiyot said after touring several schools in the county.
He warned that teenage pregnancies were disrupting learning and denying girls the opportunity to complete their education, calling for decisive measures to reverse the trend.
“As for now, we need to be brutal. We can’t have more than ten girls in a class missing learning because of early pregnancies,” he said.
Education director calls for coordinated intervention
Dr Cheruiyot said fragmented interventions by organisations and government agencies had weakened efforts to protect girls, making it necessary for stakeholders to coordinate their programmes and resources.
He also identified outdated cultural beliefs and poor road networks among the factors contributing to the challenges facing girls in the county.
The education director said the Ministry of Education would mobilise government and non-governmental agencies to strengthen collaboration in addressing the barriers preventing girls from accessing and completing their education.
He called on parents and communities to play a greater role in identifying risks facing schoolgirls and addressing practices that expose them to early marriage, teenage pregnancy and abuse.
Communities urged to protect girls from abuse
According to Dr Cheruiyot, efforts to keep girls in school must extend beyond classrooms, requiring communities and government agencies to work together to create safer learning environments.
He urged local communities to support child-protection initiatives and ensure that girls were safeguarded from abuse and early marriage.
The Ministry said a coordinated approach involving education stakeholders and other agencies would help curb teenage pregnancies, reduce school dropouts and improve the retention of girls in schools across Kajiado County.
Kajiado County Director of Education Dr Martin Cheruiyot, who has called for coordinated efforts by government agencies, parents and community organisations to address teenage pregnancies, early marriages and gender-based violence affecting schoolgirls.
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