257 girls drop out of school due to pregnancy in Eastern Province

SYLVESTER CHISHIMBA writes A TOTAL of 257 girls in Eastern Province have dropped out of school as a result of teenage pregnancies. ZANIS reports that Eastern Province Education Officer (PEO) Allan Lingambe disclosed in an interview that 257 statistic of pregnant school girls is a record from January, 2020 to date. Dr Lingambe said the province has continued recording alarming cases of the school girls dropping out of school after getting pregnant. “These school girls are from Chadiza, Chipata, Katete, Lundazi, Mambwe, Nyimba, Petauke, Sinda and Vubwi,” he said. Dr Lingambe said during the period under review, the highest cases of the girls dropping out of school in Eastern Province have been recorded from Chadiza and Petauke districts. He has since attributed the increase of teenage pregnancies as a result of economic challenges and lack of boarding facilities in day schools. Dr Lingambe said most of the girls who reported pregnant were from districts like Chadiza that do not have many boarding facilities. “As a result of this, some girls are forced to rent houses in villages making them sexually vulnerable,” he said. Dr Lingambe said more boarding facilities and secondary schools are being constructed by the Ministry of Education to help curb cases of teenage pregnancies. He commended partners like Plan International and other stakeholders who are helping in curbing teenage pregnancies among girls in rural schools. Dr Lingambe added that recently Government launched a campaign to fight teenage pregnancies and child marriages in Eastern Province. And Plan International Eastern province program manager Richard Kalyata has observed that girls around the world girls are victims of continued discrimination because of their age and gender. Mr Kalyata said millions of girls across the world are facing violence in their everyday lives and are being held back from realising their dreams. “Girls all over the world are undermined, underestimated and undervalued,” he said Mr Kalyata pledged that Plan International will work with different government ministries in improving the welfare of the children, especially girls, in the different areas of health, and education. He commended government for creating an enabling environment for girl child empowerment in Zambia, adding that plan is positioned to fighting vices affecting the girl child in Zambia The Sun