Over 800 school girls pregnant, Nyandarua County reports

Nearly a thousand young girls are now in the family way, a report by Nyandarua County Education Executive has revealed.

According to Governor Francis Kimemia, the culprits, who have sexually assaulted the teenagers, will be brought to book. He said the men are criminals and must be punished. He spoke at the weekend in Ol Kalou, adding that the girls will be assisted to resume studies after they deliver.

July government statistics also show that about 152,820 teens across Kenya’s 47 counties became pregnant in the first three months of the lockdown that began in March, a 40% increase over the same period in 2019.

UNESCO warns that the pandemic is likely to have a devastating effect on learning in areas where education is already a struggle, specifically girls’ education. It reported that out of the total population of learners enrolled in education globally, more than 89% are out of school because of COVID-19 closures. This represents 1.54 billion children and youth enrolled in school or university, including almost 743 million girls. More than 111 million of these girls are living in the world’s least developed countries, where getting an education is already not a priority.

Kimemia called on all the governors in the country to deal ruthlessly with men who impregnate school girls and those who supply drugs to the youth.