The Ministry of Education was last month forced to order schools to stop the shocking practice of requiring girls to undertake a pregnancy test as a precondition for admission. The intervention followed reports that some private schools, including Blue Lakes International School, based in Bugesera District, had asked female students – who were returning from a seven-month hiatus linked to the Covid-19 pandemic – to produce a pregnancy test certificate on arrival. It is believed that the practice has been ongoing in several private schools for a while now, with schoolgirls found to be pregnant being turned away. The Ministry of Education rightly termed the requirement as “discriminatory and unjustified”, pledging to investigate the matter. That such an appalling requirement was being imposed by some schools under the nose of authorities is unacceptable to say the least and speaks to loopholes in inspection in the education sector. While growing cases of teen pregnancies is a source of serious concern and necessitate concerted effort to push back against this troubling trend, it is absolutely detestable that anyone, let alone an educationist, would punish these young victims by depriving them of their right to education. For a schoolgirl to be impregnated at a tender age is bad enough and forcing them out of school can only exacerbate an already dire situation, which could lead to catastrophic consequences for the girl and her family and the nation. The pregnancy-test-requirement is a reflection and an indictment of a society that is only concerned with teen pregnancies but completely uncaring when it comes to expectant teenage girls or teen mothers. It’s about time we not only took resolute action against the menace of teen pregnancies but also care for pregnant teenagers and teen mothers and help them recover from physical, psychological and emotional effects of untimely, unwanted pregnancy. Indeed, the effort by two former Miss Rwanda beauty contestants, Yassipi Casimir Uwihirwe and Phiona Umwiza, to shine a light on the plight of such young girls and advocate for their wellbeing is admirable and worth supporting. Society must not abrogate its responsibility but rather face this challenge head-on, without throwing victims under the bus.
