EDITORIAL: Keep our girls in school
Formal education arguably remains the key to a better life for the majority Tanzanians. This means, if our people are to enjoy a more fulfilling life, it is crucial to give them quality formal education.
This is why we are saddened by the unending reports of adults engaging school girls in the family way by impregnating them. The latest reports, reported in Mwananchi yesterday, came from Kongwa District, Dodoma Region where in the past four years, a total of 150 secondary school girls have been made pregnant.
District Education officer Selina Fundi hinted that some parents and guardians were part of the problem. Instead of taking good care of their daughters, they used them for self-gain.
This, she said, was hampering efforts to end the problem in the district. Poverty was also cited as another reason pushing school girls into unsafe relations with men.
It not only causes them to abandon school due to pregnancy, but also, it exposes them to sexually transmitted diseases and infections.
Reports from Kongwa District could just be the tip of the iceberg. The school girl pregnancy is a national problem.
Efforts to curb it must involve everyone in the society.
Parents, guardians, and leaders at all levels must commit to protecting the girl child. All must play a role to ensure children stay in school and achieve their life goals. It can be done.
