Teen-mothers decade-old policy now obsolete, says govt
Kawe Member of Parliament Halima
What you need to know:
Ms Mdee said the government had embarked on the re-entry policy over a decade ago to help school girls who happened to give birth while still schooling to resume their studies.
Dodoma. Kawe Member of Parliament Halima Mdee revived the “teen mothers’ controversy” in the National Assembly on Thursday, February 1, when she asked the government to give the way forward on a 10-year policy on teen mothers that so far remains unimplemented.
Ms Mdee said the government had embarked on the re-entry policy over a decade ago to help school girls who happened to give birth while still schooling to resume their studies.
During the Question and Answer session in the third sitting of the National Assembly, Ms Mdee sought to know what the government would do with the policy, having invested a lot of public funds in it, with the aim of helping teen mothers realise their full potentials.
In response to the question, the deputy minister for Health, Community Development, Gender, Elderly and Children, Dr Faustine Ndugulile, said the policy had become obsolete following a directive that was earlier issued by the government that teen mothers won’t be allowed back into public schools.
Dr Ndugulile added, “By taking these measures, it doesn’t mean the government was undermining the plans to help girls realise their full potentials.”
The matter prompted the intervention the Minister for Education, Science, Technology and Vocational Training, Prof Joyce Ndalichako, who emphasized that a girl who became pregnant while still in school can seek education in alternative schools, such as adult education institutions and vocational training.
