Kasungu District Education Network bemoans pregnancies, marriages among pupils

Kasungu District Education Network (DEN) has expressed concern over rising rates of pregnancies and marriages among primary school students in the district following school closures induced by covid-19 pandemic.

Speaking on Friday during an interface meeting with adolescent girls in Group Village Head (GVH) Gundani in the area of Traditional Authority (T/A) Kaomba, Kasungu District Education Network (DEN) Chairperson, Clifford Kachali said the increasing pregnancies and early marriages could lead to high dropout rates in the district.

A recent report released by the District Education Manager’s (DEM) office indicates that 573 primary school going girls got pregnant while 208 and 113 boys got married within the period of school closures due to Covid-19 pandemic.

Kachali said there was need to sensitize the young girls and boys on the dangers of teenage pregnancies and what the law says on teenage marriages.

“We have already started awareness campaigns in all T/As in the district on the same topic in conjunction with Kasungu police station and other stakeholders,” Kachali said.

GVH Gundani said she organized the interface meeting after noting that pregnancies and marriages among the school going adolescents were escalating.

“As a group village head and a mother too, I am greatly concerned with the statistics which Kasungu and other districts have recorded. This made me call for this meeting with these young girls and give them advice on the dangers of getting early pregnancies and marriages,” Gundani said.

Kasungu Police Station- victim support desk officer, Sergeant Richard Maliwu highlighted the need for community leaders encourage boys and girls to report any kind of abuse they encounter in their homes.