Joint efforts needed to stamp out teenage pregnancies

Last week, the Gender Monitoring Office released a report indicating that 522 unwanted pregnancies among girls between 10-18 years were registered in 2012. This is an alarming figure . This kind of situation requires immediate measures to nip this problem in the bud.The report cites poverty, parental neglect, peer pressure and poor discipline among the major drivers which lead to unwanted pregnancies.The survey has drawn criticism and sympathy in equal terms.While some blame schools, others blame parents for poor upbringing of their children. There is need for concerted efforts to address the problem, instead of engaging in a blame game.Joint measures should be designed to deter sexual acts from occurring among children. True, schools are supposed to ensure discipline after accepting to admit a child in schools, but parents are also supposed to ensure proper upbringing of their children.Parents and schools should work together and seek best measures to deal with the problem of teenage pregnancy.Parents have a big role to play in this. Modernity exposes children to many sexual practices.Television and movies, if not regulated in homes, can expose children to adult content which out of curiosity they try to experiment.This calls for greater parental role in the upbringing of their children. Parents should not abdicate their responsibility of nurturing children to schools.The Ministry of Education should also consider whether to introduce sex education as part of the school curricula. When children are enlightened about sex, it prepares them for their sexual growth. Studies have showed that in schools where sex education is well streamlined, cases of inappropriate behavior is minimised.

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Joint efforts needed to stamp out teenage pregnancies