The Member of Parliament MP for Matuga constituency in Kwale County Kassim Sawa Tandaza has decried the rise in teenage pregnancies among school girls in the region.
Tandaza said the problem of teenage pregnancy was especially prominent in rural areas of the coastal county where a high unemployment rate exists.
“Unless the community comes together to jointly face the problem of teenage pregnancies blamed on the poor transition rate among the girl child it would be an uphill task to break the vicious cycle of poverty assailing residents,” he said.
The legislator said teenage pregnancy was a menace that is threatening to shatter the dreams of teenage school going girls and underscored the need for concerted efforts to fight against the societal problem.
He said the high teenage pregnancies were posing a serious threat to girl child education in the region besides being a problem for the entire community.
“One of the immediate consequences of teenage pregnancies is dropping out of school which in the long run increases inequality between men and women,” he said.
He challenged girls to lead morally decent lives and concentrate on their education to enable them become responsible citizens and professionals in future.
The first term MP spoke on Thursday when he visited Dima primary in Matuga sub county where several children are learning under trees due to lack of enough classrooms.
Tandaza appealed to parents of girls who have fallen victims of early pregnancies to take them back to school to ensure they continue with their studies.
Tandaza says he will address the challenges of education in his constituency promising not to discriminate against anyone but will work to ensure issues of education are addressed appropriately.
He noted that for the area of his representation to realize any meaningful development the quality of education must be enhanced.
He observed that education is the key to the development and progress of any society and asked parents and guardians to pay attention to the education of their children.
He said he will embark on building classrooms using the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) to provide a good learning environment for students especially during this Covid-19 crisis where spacing is critical.
by Hussein Abdullahi
