Murang’a County to start back to school program for Teen mothers

Murang’a South,

Thursday, November 23, 2023

KNA by Anita Omwenga

Murang’a County government is in the process of establishing a back-to-school program aimed at enabling teenage mothers to go back to school.

Speaking during the State of the County address Wednesday the governor, Dr Irungu Kangata noted that the Back to School program will be established once the county assembly passes the supplementary budget.

“Even as we sensitize the public on the dangers of teenage pregnancy and aim at reducing the statistics, as a County we are committed to ensuring re-entry of the teen mothers to schools as education is the only way that they will enable them to secure their future,” he said.

The country has a high teenage pregnancy burden as the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey 2022 key indicators show that the main drivers of teenage pregnancy include lack of education, poverty, early sexual initiation, harmful cultural practices, and barriers to accessing sexual and reproductive health services.

Further, data from Kenya Health Information Systems indicate that a total of 110,821 pregnancies were recorded among adolescents aged between the ages of 10 to 19 years in the first five months of 2023. 

In Murang’a County, 7 percent of girls aged 15 to 19 years have often been pregnant according to a data fact sheet from the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey 2022.

The Governor’s commitment comes in the backdrop of other key players and non-governmental organizations who are championing teenage mothers’ re-entry to schools in the county. 

The Forum for Africa Educationalists Kenya (Fawek) is implementing such a program in 20 counties including Murang’a County whose teenage pregnancy burden stood at 7 percent in 2022.

FAWE ‘Imarisha Msichana’ program aims at reducing teenage pregnancies and ensuring re-entry of the girls to schools as well as supporting women and girls to acquire education for development.

“Our maternal support program continues to incentivize women to attend clinics as this will go a long way in ending maternal deaths and complications and so far the county has registered over 7000 mothers in the program” confirmed Kangata”. 

At the same time nominated member of the county assembly Njeri Mwaniki while lauding the initiative noted that sponsoring teen mothers to access education is a noble idea whose effects will have long-lasting social and developmental outcomes for the county at large.

Meanwhile, the county will also adopt a recommendation by the Committee of Trade, Industrialization, cooperatives, tourism and Wildlife whose report dated August 2023 seeks to introduce a Gikuyu music festival. 

“Once the supplementary budget sails through the Gikuyu music festival will be held on December 24 and consequently become an annual event in the county," said Kang'ata. 

The festival will among other things celebrate Murang’as departed music heroes like Queen Jane and Demetheew and will be the largest Gikuyu music festival ever held,” he added

Courtesy; KNA