Northwestern Province Education Officer (PEO) Jennipher Malama has expressed worry at the increased number of early pregnancies in the province.
Mrs. Malama said most Schools in the province have continued to record a high number of girls dropping out of school as a result of pregnancy.
She said the province last year recorded about 1000 cases of early pregnancies, a rate she described as alarming.
Mrs Malama said this in Solwezi today during newly appointed Northwestern Province Permanent Secretary Daniel Bowasi’s familiarization tour of the Provincial Education Office.
She, however, pointed out that her office is engaging parents and communities on the matter to stop the situation from worsening.
Meanwhile, the PEO has expressed happiness with the number of boarding Schools being constructed across the province.
Mrs. Malama said this would help reduce the number of children especially girls dropping out of school as a result of long distances to school.
[ ZANIS ]
There is serious need of govt intervention in this part of the country. We it as shame that we keep disputing the latest UN Human Development Index figures and yet such vices contribute to the negative ratings.
This is what happens when there are no prospects and people cant see the benefits of education, not that I condone it but let us be realistic, they hope probably for their kids life must be better.
This is not the logical comment you would expect from some one such as me but cynicism creates this kind of thought process. Any way with the death rates in Zambia and a large migrant incomers probably somebody needs to keep the numbers up, after all North western has always been lowly populated.
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bacitana bafana
……….the girl on the far left in the pic is using a bathroom/toilet mat as baby shawl, Va chizungu ivi!? Muzavela next year ati ni ba first lady!! lol…………
That is the problem of circumcision, kukonda kudya live
Bachindiwa bafana na big circumcized coca colas
Thats one major down side of male circumcision…..these chaps a going for live.. they have no fear….
Nowerdayz the fear is not about pragnancy,, its the HIV.. but wen you are told that you safe wen have your foreskin cut…young girls suffer…
Waoo, this is strange, in North western Province long time ago in 80’s no one got married early, and parents used vimakwala on there daughters when ever you try to go out with them you would never get your ‘john’ up.Hence most of the North Western province girls completed form 5-by then. maybe am wrong
Northwestern Province haz about 71% cicumcizion rate and the highest in the country. Az long az proponents of circumcizion emphasize that the practice reducez HIV infection risk by about 60%, then am afraid we won’t win withe high rate of pregnanciez in that province.
Its as a result of circumcision where young ones are told they cant contract AIDS. So the are just entering in anything they come across.
Therefore I suggest that circumcisin be baned ASAP in order to prevent early pregnances.
Seriously UNFPA and other NGOs working on reproductive health issues in that provinces are failing. They painted a very good picture of the province having the lowest HIV rates in the Country and tying that to male circumcision. Now here are other problems of going in live, like what others have said. Now watch out for the whole Country with circumcision becoming popular; more education is needed.
in other words it means too much unprotected s.e.x, further meaning too much AIDS, which further means number of orphans increase , that now means no one can send them to school, meaning they turn to crime, which also means we will have an unstable society, meaning investors lose of interest to invest in our country, meaning that we wont have development, meaning……
Very stupid comments being made, this is not about the rate of HIV infections, do you honestly believe other areas of the country are having less sex than before, I doubt it. Make comments and if being made in jest then one can understand.
Does any sensible person not wonder that the mining activities in the province has brought in an influx of activities including those that result in pregnancies. Grow up, and if you want to make comments let these be sensible comments apart from the jokes we will all make from time to time. I wonder even the statistics indicated by the Provincial Officer are as a result of statistica analysis or just a subjective view point. Some of you will always pick up on North-Westerners forgetting, lots of Zambians are from the Lunda- Luba Kingdom.
That is the down side of circumcision.The dudes use the young stars to train the asenals(or should i say asegai`s) on.
Hey, the more the merrier – good on them. The problem is not teenage pregnancy, the problem is poverty – as you can see from the photograph. How about doing something about water storage so people can get more money from agriculture? The state can easily finance basic ponds and swales, as well as reforresting.
Google: yeomans keyline
In the page “Yeomans – Water for every farm”, go down to the link: “Keyline Designs – Superb Landcare and Sustainable Agriculture (text and pictures)”. It doesn’t take a huge amount of money.
Improving the water absorbing capacity of the landscape is also good to fight erosion, prevent flooding, and improve the value of the land for agriculture.
All zambian rurals there is problem of early pregnence so issue of circumcision is out. very few have appreciated education in the rurals of zambia.
You stop taking about my province, don’t you know that most of the educated people in Zambia come from this province? Just concetrate on your politics, those girls you see are hot, they can grill you and you forget about your wives……..
This is RB Progress that he talked about…. things fall apart.
# 15 ,
yOU ARE 100% CORRECT.the guys after circumcision are testing their sosauge on the teenagers. Hehe its realy serious guys…soon they will be infected with AIDS …..mamaweee.
And some bloggers call other tribes names,atase (Price of education indeed) what a shame that they have alarge following of junior tasinthas,who may letter graduate to proffessional prostitues.What is wrong with these girls can they not keep their legs closed and their cloths on atase.Where the Parents in this time and age of Hiv?aids and all those other nasties.The problem as stated sterms from iliteracy,very high levels of poverty(due to unemployment) and lack of sex education.
Sad situation, sad situation guys.
This story makes sad reading and such contribute to our poor rating by the UNFPA.Lets not just stretch our hands and condemn the Govt but talk to such under priviledged few.It’s very sad.
Sinazeze is not in NW. It’s Southern. Those are Tonga Bull products. This reporter must get his facts right. Besides circumcised men are not that virile!!!!!
There is too much s.e.x in that province i went to school there i had fan with girls there so iu’m not surprised!
for as long as s.e.x continues to be a publicly tabboo subject yet a privately illicitly irresponsibly pleasurable source of bliss such issues will remain troublesome… Bring s.e.x to the table… Why should s.e.x be an embarrassing subject, or a shameful passtime? Lets get honest about these things and we will see some changes. The same elders who discourage publicly are the ones doing the young ones privately… ok, over-generalisation, but…
Sad but there is too much poverty that is forcing the parents to look the other way when their children are misbehaving.
sorry to hear such things. Please young ones there is alot of enjoying ahead and education is the key. conduct not the horn. u will die ohh.
Mama Jenipher Malama dont worry about the high rate of girls falling pregant to friendly fire. The teachers warn these girls but coz of over excitement they end up in such situations. In fact they are doing a deservice to their own future. The problem that these girls have is that they start indulging into sex intercourse at very tender ages and they think its normal. may be the only blessing is that the Province is sparsely populated ad they fast increasing the growth of population. The other problem is that there very few high schools often they poor girls get ending renting rooms in the comunities and there is parental control. It becomes free for all.