Trans Nzoia Teacher’s Call For Parents Involvement To Curb Teenage Pregnancy

By Isabella Maua

Parents and guardians have been called upon to step up and take responsibility for guiding and counselling their children, especially those in day schools.

According to teachers, parents have neglected their roles and left a bigger burden to teachers who have limited time to impact classroom knowledge as well as moral authority to the students.

In an exclusive interview with Newsline, Deborah Kamau, the principal at St James Mabonde Mixed Secondary School, said parental negligence has greatly contributed to teenage pregnancies in Trans Nzoia County.

According to the Kenya Human Rights Commission report 2024, the teenage pregnancy rate in Trans Nzoia county was 17.8%, with this data putting the county among those with higher rates in Kenya.

“Our children are sexually active, and being a mixed-dayschool, it is even more challenging for us as teachers,” Kamau said.

Adding that: “At the moment we have about 5 girls who are expectant in school, and this is negatively impacting on their studies.”

The principal recommends that the community be sensitised on sexual and reproductive health as a measure to curb school dropout as a result of teenage pregnancy.

However, Kamau criticised inadequate facilities and a shortage of qualified teachers to care for the students.

“We are getting ready for grade 10 as per the CBC curriculum, but until now we don’t have an ICT hub, which is integral in this learning system.

She reports that she has tried her best reaching out to area local leaders, politicians, the Safaricom Foundation, the Embassy of South Korea and even the Bill Gates Foundation in the quest to improve the school’s learning environment.

Kamau calls upon the government to also hear the loud cry from day schools and hasten the process of capitation so that education may run seamlessly.

She deplored the low number of teachers versus students in the school.

“We have 356 learners against 10 TSC teachers; half of the staff are under the Board of Management, whom we pay depending on what our parents have given us.”