Alarm as 41 of 113 pregnant
KCSE candidates give birth
KITUI
By Mercy Mueni
FOURTY-ONE candidates from
Kitui have given birth since the 2018 Kenya Certificate
of Secondary Examination began on Monday. Kitui County Education Director Salesa Adano. confirming the alarming numbers said he has a report of 72 girls who
are candidates and are pregnant within
the county.
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| Mr. Adano: Perturbing absence |
" This is just too difficult to say, considering the total number is
113", said Adano. He said as
education department they are puzzled because no parent has come out to
complain. " No parent has raised
a red flag. No parent has said, look, something is happening with my daughter.
Not a single chief has raised issues, not a single community member has come to our offices, but it is us as a department who are saying that something is very seriously wrong" he added.
Adano’s comments are a
contradiction of the conversations that have been taking place in the county
spearheaded by Governor Kaluki Ngilu. The Governor is on record appealing to
young girls and boys to avoid premature sex so that they can concentrate with
their education uninterrupted. Adano’s
remarks underline a widespread concern of his disquieting absence from the
Kitui education scene since he was posted to the county.
Moreover, both Kitui County
Commissioner Mr. Samuel Kimiti and the County Minister for Education David
Kivoto have held meetings to discuss the matter, all of which Mr Adano has not
attended. The two officials have pledged to use all available structures to
confront student pregnancies in Kitui County through mass sensitization
programs.
Mr Kivoto said the county
government would ensure that the trend is stopped. “Both the County Government
and the National Government have resolved to use all existing structures to
counter these worrying numbers. These are our children and we will support them
to escape from this trap”, he said
Adano said he is baffled
by the issue that up to now they are not aware who is responsible for these
pregnancies but he did not indicate what his ministry is doing
to stop it. " It could be from outside the school, within the
school or any other person out there,a young boy, man, adult or senior person.
It could be anybody" he said.
Speaking to Mbaitu Fm reporter this morning, Adano said his department is more nervous because it doesn't know what to do
with the number of teenage pregnancies in Kitui county.
