14 teen mothers head back to classroom

When the new academic year starts in September, 14 teen mothers enrolled with the Gender Affairs office will be given the chance to continue their education.{{more}}

Coordinator of Gender Affairs Polly Olliver told Searchlight that since the introduction of the programme in 2003, 41 mothers have benefited and up to the end of the last school term, 31 mothers were still registered in the school system.

Olliver said that these mothers are not allowed to go back to their former schools, but are placed in another school based on their performance prior to getting pregnant.

Some of these mothers are being sent back to forms as low as Form 2.

Despite the fact that a few of these teen mothers do not complete their schooling even after being given a second chance, Olliver was proud to say that the most of the teen mums make good use of the opportunity.

“The programme is effective. From the data, the second chance has motivated them to work. I can’t say that there’s more pregnancy, as the figures remain constant,” Olliver stated.

According to her, there is a link between poverty and gender and it is important that education access addresses the needs of disadvantaged groups such as teen mothers.

Olliver explained, “The teenage dropouts are a susceptible group that is likely to be exposed to poverty and they must be targeted to ensure that they access education. Education is seen as a means to upward mobility.”

The Ministry of Social Development, according to Olliver, is looking at ways in which they can do more for these girls. They also hope to help the young women to find the right career path that can help to take them much further.

She said the ministry will also be looking towards having the parents of the teenage mothers onboard and they are planning another consultation with these parents and principals. From this consultation, the ministry hopes to create a manual that the teen mothers can use as a guide.