Chronicle Editor
Leonard Ncube
CASES of teenage pregnancy are reportedly on the rise in communities within Chief Mvuthu’s area outside Victoria Falls where a significant number of girls have dropped out of school as a result.
On Monday, Chronicle witnessed the burial of a 15-year-old girl in BH33 who died from an undisclosed ailment that started soon after she gave birth last year.
The deceased, Emmaculate Mpofu was 13 years old and was in Form One at Chidobe Secondary School when she was impregnated by Njabulo Sibanda, who is now aged now 20, who is also a former student at the same school.
She dropped out of school last year and leaves behind a seven-month-old baby.
Chronicle learnt that her two cousins that she stayed with, also dropped out of the same school last year after falling pregnant and giving birth.
Emmaculate’s parents are based in South Africa and had left her in the custody of her paternal grandmother, together with her two cousins.
The three girls reportedly fled from their grandmother’s homestead and stayed alone at Emmaculate’s parents’ homestead claiming the elderly woman was too strict, and the three of them ended up falling pregnant and dropped out of school.
They are among the more than a dozen girls that have fallen pregnant and dropped out of Chidobe Secondary since 2020 when Covid-19 started.
Several others dropped out at other surrounding schools, Chronicle learnt.
Inquiries by Chronicle revealed that at Chidobe Secondary School, eight girls dropped out after falling pregnant last term alone, while on average about five girls drop out every term at neighbouring Sizinda, and Vulindlela secondary schools.
Countrywide, more than 4 706 girls dropped out of school last year due to pregnancies.
Efforts to speak to Emmaculate’s father Mr Flucson Mpofu and family proved futile as they were not willing to grant an interview after the burial.
A news crew patiently waited as the Mpofu and Njabulo’s families convened a meeting soon after burial, but they declined to talk about the matter.
Traditional leaders, however, said there is a need to restore cultural values of ubuntu to reduce delinquency among children which they said is causing high rates of teenage pregnancies and early child marriages.
They bemoaned moral decay both among children and parents; who are allegedly quick to marry off their children once they fall pregnant.
Kachechete village head Mr Ndabayabo Moyo who is also overall chairperson of BH33, BH34, BH36 and BH37 village assembly which has eight village heads said there is a need for behaviour change both among children and adults.
“I think we have lost footing with regards to rebuking our children as parents. We need to teach our children about life so that they don’t rush to adulthood. Parents have lost our cultural values whereby they should report to traditional leaders when a minor child gets pregnant. This used to deter would be perpetrators.
“Teenage pregnancies are now prevalent and people just sit as families and make the perpetrator pay lobola which is not right. We should return to our cultural ways because we cannot have three minors falling pregnant at the same time in one village,” said Mr Moyo.
He said most parents have lost control over children who spend time attending sports tournaments and other events where they return home at night, and some frequent bars.
“Our values have been lost. As parents we should monitor our children and control their dressing which is no longer respectable as we have adopted other people’s cultures. Our prayer is for parents to be allowed to discipline their children so that they know that some things are wrong than to be arrested if they beat them up. Couples should also be on the same side on disciplining children than to fight over it,” he added.
Mvuthu village chair Mr Paulos Ntini who is also village assembly chair for BH26, BH27 and BH11 and a pastor at United African Apostolic Church said there is a need for all stakeholders in communities to engage for a lasting solution.
He implored health authorities not to register young girls for pre-natal services without engaging traditional leaders and parents.
“There are many cases coming through schools. In our Mvuthu community we have a serious challenge of many girls that have fallen pregnant and dropped out of school but the cases are not handled correctly.
“Our worry is that these issues are no longer being handled correctly because these girls quickly get registered at the clinic and it becomes difficult to start dealing with the cases,” said Mr Ntini.
BH33 village head Mrs Gertrude Shoko said parents should be allowed to discipline their children.
“Police should allow parents to rebuke children. Right now parents can’t discipline their children because they will go to court. Police can’t be on the forefront when it comes to parenting. So if we go back to our cultural values where children are controlled by their parents we will end this but now police are the ones controlling children,” she said.
Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education spokesperson Mr Taungana Ndoro said Government had come up with a number of interventions including the Education Amendment Act 2020, which allows girls to come back to school irrespective of being young mothers or pregnant.
“These are some of the strategies and strides that we have done as Government to make sure that even pregnant girls do not drop out of school. We also have guidance and counselling which is continuously given through the competency based curriculum and discouraging early indulgence in sex and early marriages,” he said. -@ncubeleon
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