Education Amendment Act gives hope on gender equality

Andile Tshuma

THE move by Government to allow pregnant girls in school is progressive and gives hope on the future of the girl child and her rights in the country. The picture society has about pregnant girls is that of mischievous teens who by choice happily engage in early sex and fall pregnant because they want to. Society believes such girls should be punished.

The Education Amendment Act that was gazetted last week gives hope on gender equality in the country and Government’s commitment to champion the rights of the girl child. Prior to the amendments of the law, school authorities could expel a girl for falling pregnant but spare the boy responsible for the same pregnancy, which was seen as discriminatory against the girl child.

Some people are however, of the view that the new law has opened the floodgates of immorality and many people fear a situation of mass pregnancies in schools. However, it is not the case. This can easily be addressed in the home. Parents must play their part and ensure that strong family values are instilled in the home before a child goes out to mix with others in communal spaces such as schools.

A lot of debates have often been embedded around “morality” and the idea that pregnancy outside wedlock is morally wrong and is likely to promote delinquency among other schoolgoing girls once pregnant pupils are allowed back into school. It is a fact that no one chooses to live a life of delinquency and seeing a pregnant classmate might in fact act as a deterrent to others.

The new law must be viewed as a window that gives the unfortunate pregnant girl another chance. What it does do is open a door for the girl to overcome her challenges and start her life again. It is not ideal for a teenager to fall pregnant while still in school. Parenting is just not for children.

It is wiser for pupils to properly follow the course of life and take one step at a time. However, should it happen that a schoolgirl falls pregnant, instead of being shamed and ridiculed for falling pregnant and “chasing boys”, she must be supported to continue with school. While her life has already been impacted and she is a parent to be, she at least must have an education and support systems such as the school set up that allows her to start once again.

The Education Act Amendment should be commended for giving a new lease of life to girls and future generations. It is hoped that the changes will not promote delinquency among youths, but serve as a learning curve to discourage other girls from engaging in premarital sex. It has to be appreciated that pregnant schoolgirls face huge problems which on their own are enough punishment that should deter others from indulging in sex while at school.

Allowing pregnant girls back into schools is both progressive and in line with the Constitution which guarantees the rights of all people, the right for equality and the right to education. For long, organisations lobbying for full rights for girls and other stakeholders had been urging the Government to allow pregnant girls in class, arguing that the ban deprived girls of their right to education and access to a better future.

The move fosters equality in cases where girls who fell pregnant were expelled from school while the concerned boy continued with his education. It must be borne in mind that girls do not fall pregnant on their own. They are often coerced by their boyfriends who might be at the same school to engage in unprotected sex.

Such early and unintended pregnancies jeopardise education for thousands of girls, who often find themselves out of school and condemned in their communities. Pregnancy is not contagious, girls should be allowed in school if society is to tackle gender inequality in the classroom and stop many girls from dropping out of school. It is worrying that some groups in society still strongly feel that pregnant girls have no place in school as they had “decided” to become mothers and “bad apples that would corrupt others.”

In 2018, 12,5 percent of the country’s roughly 57 500 school dropouts stopped attending classes due to pregnancy or marriage reasons — almost all of them girls, according to Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education statistics.

While it would be good to teach and preach abstinence, it would also make more sense to be real and acknowledge the fact that most of the school going teenagers are indulging in sex. It would probably be a better idea to ensure that they protect themselves while at it. Probably the idea of bringing contraceptives is not such a bad idea after all.

There needs to be a curriculum review on the sex education offered to school pupils bearing in mind that they are exposed to much more material on sex than the average teenager 10 years ago. They must be empowered to make informed choices and the home must not leave it all for the school to handle.

Sex education must also take place in the home, parents and guardians would be unfair to burden it all on the teachers. Parents must be reminded that pupils converge at school coming from different communities, different backgrounds with all sorts of values. They must then make it a point that when their child leaves the home, they have carried the family values with them.