In February 2013, the nation was shocked to learn that 26 schoolgirls at Groupe Scolaire de Nsinda in Rwamagana District, Eastern Province, had been found pregnant. Nearly two years later, there are no indications that tough measures have been taken to curb teenage pregnancies in schools, a trend which education stakeholders are now saying is more prevalent in Twelve-Year Basic Education schools. 

Some school head teachers are now largely blaming teenage pregnancies in 12YBE schools on lack of disciplinary teachers in such public schools.

While schools should do all necessary to discourage students from indulging in irresponsible sexual relationships, the problem is far broader and will need a more comprehensive, multi-sectoral approach to address. As a matter of fact, even schools which have teachers who are specifically charged with following up on disciplinary issues have recorded teenage pregnancies. There is need for a policy shift as far as sexual and reproductive health education is concerned.

The ministries of Education and Health, and other education stakeholders need to urgently consult and develop a comprehensive national sexual and reproductive health education programme for schools to ensure that our school adolescent girls and boys are adequately aware of the dangers of indulging in teenage sex and how to avoid them.

But the responsibility to empower our teenagers with such life skills can hardly solely fall on shoulders of the educators; parents and society at large have a major role to play.

In this age and era, especially with the advent of affordable internet, smart phones and social media, the old notion that it’s virtually a taboo to openly discuss sex and reproductive health with children is dangerously counterproductive and needs to be discarded as soon as yesterday.

Parents need to ‘man up’ and stop dithering in the face of a very dire situation that calls for stern action. Parents and society need to face the reality head on; the younger youth of these days are keener to indulge in sexual adventure than the older generations when they were in the same age bracket, and therefore they need parental guidance and support to navigate through this stage of life safely. 

Of course, besides the unwanted pregnancies, there are other dangers of unprotected teenage sex, including contracting HIV/Aids and other sexually transmitted diseases, child marriages, dropping out of school and other risks associated with unplanned, premature parenthood.

These are critical issues that we need to confront head on as a people instead of trying to pass the buck and hoping against hope that, somehow, our children will improvise and learn to say no to peer pressure and sexual temptations.