Friday, March 29, 2024

Zambia recorded 12,500 pregnancies among primary school pupils last year -Phiri

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Dr JOHN PHIRI
Dr JOHN PHIRI

ZAMBIA last year recorded 12,500 pregnancies among primary school pupils and 2,428 in secondary schools, minister of Education John Phiri has disclosed.

Dr Phiri said that of these, 4,492 pupils were readmitted at primary school level while 1,337 secondary school learners were readmitted after delivering, representing a re-admission rate of less than 50 per cent.

The minister was speaking yesterday at Lusaka’s Pamodzi Hotel during the exposition of the Teachers’ Diploma in Psychosocial Care, Support and Protection that has been launched in conjunction with the Regional Psychosocial Support Initiative (REPSSI).

“Realising that the aforementioned challenges not only frustrate the schooling environment but also retard national development, my ministry has embarked on a robust programme to address the challenges,” Dr Phiri said.

Dr Phiri said the education strengthening processes included revision
of education policies, strengthening school-based guidance and
counselling services.

“This partnership between the Government and REPSSI has resulted into the realisation of the teachers’ diploma in Psychosocial, Care, Support and Protection,” Dr Phiri said.

“Through the six modular course, the programme explores the building blocks for a caring school; helps teachers to realise the potential of children and youth as well as realising the potential of their classroom.”

The minister was speaking in a speech read for him by assistant director for human resource in the Ministry of Education John Nyangu.

REPSSI country director Kelvin Ngoma said through the teachers’ diploma in Psychosocial Care, Support and Protection, teachers had improved their capacity to support cognitive, social and emotional learning of the learners.

“This positions the school as a unit for integrated development of the learner, and in turn assures psychosocial well-being to thrive, stay in school and realise their potential,” Mr Ngoma said.

Mr Ngoma said the psychosocial approach gave teachers an opportunity to develop an understanding of themselves and how to enhance their potential and development of children and the way in which they (children) learned.

“The course creates a balanced approach to learning and teaching. The package positions the beneficiary schools as centres for positive transformation of the learner and, in return, creates conscious communities in the vicinity of such schools,” he said.

27 COMMENTS

    • It is new UPND strategy to increase the voters by 2032. The strategy included adopting babies. Watch out for more baby adoption in the country. We are focussing on 2032.

    • Boys never fall pregnant like girls. So girls should be taught how to keep their legs tightly closed and more so how to say “No” to boys and men.

      “No” is one word that has been deleted in all our girls vocabularly incuding daughters of very rich people. Surprisingly even their married mothers have no “No” in their vocabularly. This is another reason for extra marital affais. women talk about 2+ thousand sexual experiences before they can find their man….who will obviously share them with other men

    • How can they be over 16 in primary school? The problem now is that some church people are against distribution of condoms in schools. What a hypocritical society we are!

    • @MM, yes not good to have young mothers but you also say “What doom? Please do not alarm the nation. As long as they are of consenting age, no problem at all.”

      Really?

      No problem that young girls are interrupting their education?
      No problem that these girls are getting pregnant presumably before marriage and that the father will most likely run and hide?
      No problem that the girl’s parents or grandparents will end up having to raise the baby?
      No problem that so many young girls are having unprotected sex exposing themselves to disease?
      No problem that some were probably raped?
      No problem that girls above 16 are still in primary school when they should be in secondary school by then?
      No problem that people like you say it is “just OK” to knock up a 16 year old?

      Eish!

    • @MM, yes not good to have young mothers but you also say “What doom? Please do not alarm the nation. As long as they are of consenting age, no problem at all.”

      Really?

      No problem that young girls are interrupting their education?
      No problem that these girls are getting pregnant presumably before marriage and that the father will most likely run and hide?
      No problem that the girl’s parents or grandparents will end up having to raise the baby?
      No problem that so many young girls are having unprotected sex exposing themselves to disease?
      No problem that some were probably r’ped?
      No problem that girls above 16 are still in primary school when they should be in secondary school by then?
      No problem that people like you say it is “just OK” to knock up a 16 year old?

      Eish!

    • @ Max, are you blind or merely a misogynist who enjoys little girls? If you see “no problem” with teen pregnancy, how about you address the points I raise above rather repeat yourself over and over like someone with autism? The law may allow 16 year olds to have sex (….and for older men like you to prey on such children?) but that is not what this is about.

    • define defilement. If they are over 16yrs (this is zambia, primary school girls can be over 16yrs) then it is not defilement.

      I suspect that those responsible are a handful. Teacher included. so the case could be professional misconduct.

    • @Max millian,You seem to be on the side supporting sex with minors,are you one of the defilers?
      A child in primary school is not old enough to consent sex.Even if she was the fact that she is in primary shows that she is minor.

      The issue at hand is the increasing poverty levels under pf.It has led to young girls soliciting sex from civil servants and businessmen.
      By the way are aware of the HIV infections?

  1. All those men who impregnated primary school girls committed defilement looking at how old such young girls should be. Let justice be played fairly; General Kanene should also be uncaged if those cases are ignored.

  2. This is very sad indeed. My proposal to the minister of education is that we should reduce the enrolment age for girls (and even boys) to 5. From the statistics given, it appears that once the girls get into high school, their worldview is widened and their aspirations change so much that illicit sex becomes secondary. If they start school at 5, they will get through their primary education before they get into puberty. If anything , all things being equal, they will be done with secondary education by 16 before they begin to give attention to their physiological/sexual needs.

  3. Statistics is not informative if it lacks comparability. Is the situation worsening or improving? The Minister would have done well by giving us similar statistics at least for 2012 but otherwise 2011 & 2012 stats in addition to stats given above would have helped us as a nation to know whether we are making progress in arresting this unfortunate situation. Anyway, we are a malnourished country. This shows even in statements given by our leaders.

  4. I will say it again. As long as the girls are over 16yrs and consented, I see no problem. However, I find it sad that we have young mothers.

  5. Lust for expensive phone, bodily possessions, and stomach needs are the main cause of all these pregnancies. On the other hand, adolescents like experimenting with their bodies whatever they see on internet and TV in the process massive pregnancies. Poverty is also another contributing factor. Some parents send their girl child to make money through prostitution for their survival and we have seen such things happening in our compounds!
    The way forward: Parents and guardians teach the children better morals. How should it be done is what each and every parent or guardian should think of.

  6. @ Ba Max Milian you are right but any normal person would have children education first at heart so we have more educated Zambians than just impregnating them destroying their future knowing that even at 17 what maturity do they hold….Seriously we should hold and be sensitive in our society. As a father of three girls investing all my efforts to see my girl finished education to see my effort thrown to rubbish is unfair. I am glad am a Christian hence i would never do such to anyone’s child

  7. now we should also have 12,500 arrests for those who committed these acts with underage girls, I mean it is highly unlikely the girls who are primary pupils are above 16 years. So ba minister we need arrests of the animals who did these despicable acts please we want arrests.

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