Seven pregnant schoolgirls in Taita Teveta sent home

Seven secondary schoolgirls from Taita Taveta have been sent home due to pregnancy. While the school board says no one had identified any member of staff as the culprit, parents blame the Education Ministry for failing to take action against some teachers suspected to be responsible for the pregnancies. PHOTO | FILE 

In Summary

• Some teachers at Mshimba Secondary School are said to be responsible for the pregnancies.
• Mr Willy Mkubwa, said they had recommended that the pregnant girls be sent away.
• He said that the institution did not have any control over students during the holidays.

By JONATHAN MANYINDO
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Seven secondary schoolgirls from Taita Taveta have been sent home this term due to pregnancy.

Some teachers at Mshimba Secondary School are said to be responsible for the pregnancies.

Parents have protested the expulsion, accusing the Ministry of Education of failing to take action against the teachers.

The school’s board of management chairman, Mr Willy Mkubwa, said they had recommended that the pregnant girls be sent away.

He said although there were rumours that some teachers were responsible for the pregnancies, no one had identified any member of staff as the culprit.

“I am not protecting anyone but the fact is that no one has associated any of my teachers with the misconduct, otherwise we would have taken action immediately,” he said.

BLAMED PARENTS

Mr Mkubwa blamed parents for the problem, saying medical reports showed that the girls conceived during the holidays and not during school time.

He said that the institution did not have any control over students during the holidays.

“We sent them home so that their parents can look for places elsewhere to enable them to continue with their education after delivery,” he added.

In 2013, said Mr Mkubwa, another girl who was in Form Four was impregnated but was married after the matter was settled at home by the two families.