Eduwatch, a nongovernmental organisation has disclosed that 555, 575 teenage girls in Ghana got pregnant between 2016 and 2020.
The education NGO said over 100,000 Junior High School girls get pregnant each year across the country.
Executive Director of Eduwatch, Mr. Kofi Asare who disclosed this at a workshop organized by Eduwatch for stakeholders in the northern sector to seek their opinion on government`s reentry policy for pregnant school girls and the back to school campaign said the initiative was in the right direction.
He said Covid19 made it more pertinent for an aggressive campaign following a sharp increase in pregnant teenage girls during the closure of schools, adding that the GES rolled out the back to school campaign to catalyze efforts to ensure that every pregnant girl is able to reenter school and complete.
He said it is within the context of the implementation of the policy and campaign that Africa Education Watch with support from partners has been reviewing the effectiveness of the policy and the campaign.
Mr. Asare said they have engaged stakeholders at national and local levels, including implementing agencies, on the strength of the policy and campaign, any gaps in implementation, how strengthen local ownership and policy sustainability to improve policy relevance as economic factors continue to influence girls’ return to school.
He said that the Northern Regional Stakeholder Conference is the second meeting to seek input from stakeholders to improve the implementation of the policy so that they make national policy on what needs to be done to improve the effectiveness of the reintegration policy.
Mr. Asare said they will hold discussions with the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Welfare, the Ministry of Health, the National Commission on Citizenship Education, the social protection agency and key agencies that play a role in preventing teen pregnancy to strengthen cooperation. and resolve issues arising from the consultation forum.
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Source: myjoyonline
