Schoolgirls ‘mass’ pregnancies in Phalombe: 30 confirmed expectant at Mpasa CDSS
Mpasa Community Day Secondary Schools (CDSS) in Phalombe has started the second term of the 2017/2018 academic year with 30-girls less due to unexpected pregnancies.
The 30 girls who were all beneficiaries of various school fees bursary programmes provided at the school are said to have gotten pregnant during and after the first term which started in September and ended in December 2017.
Speaking in an interview with Mana on Tuesday, head teacher for the school, Herbert Msasa confirmed the mass drop out and has described it as a blow to the fight for the girl child’s education.
According to the head teacher, while it would be expected that most students would drop out of school due to lack of financial support from their guardians and well-wishers, it was sad to note that provision of school bursary has not solved any problems as it turns out.
“In the past we have had one or two girls drop out of school in a year, but having 30 girls dropping out in a term is something that leaves us with no possible explanations. Only the girls themselves can best explain the reasons why they fell into such traps,” Msasa pointed out .
He said the only reason that he finds fitting for the occasion is lack of sexual reproductive health information and services which would assist them in escaping teenage pregnancies.
A teacher and patron for School Health in Nutrition HIV and AIDS (SHINHA) at the school, Yohane Zakariya blamed the impregnated girls for not being able to handle popularity in school.
“Most of the bursary schemes provides enough for almost every needy girl child to remain in school, starting from school uniforms and sanitary pads to school fees and learning materials. In so doing, their parents are at ease that they can buy them clothes occasionally since they are no longer at pressure to produce school fees and all the other school needs. As such, these girls begin to look good, which puts them on the spotlight for men in the villages and boys at school,” he viewed.
He hoped that provision of sexual reproductive health information and services to both girls and boys in school would reduce the rate at which they impregnate each other.
A form 4 student, Irene Masamba who is under a school bursary, said once she was enrolled into the bursary and started to look good, she began receiving advances from men and boys who had never talked to her before.
She added that she was able to stand against the pressure unlike the other 30 girls who have become the education system’s worry in the district.
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ngati mwayamba kugulisa miyambo pa ma okala , musadandaule sizomwe mwati plesdent wanuyi akufuna!!!
musatinyasepo apa
eetu mmati azitani mmai amacita preach ku mulakho uja zoti atsikana azigula satsi za mu nkhono uja mde mmati ana asakayesetre?????????????????// zitsilu zaanthu. mwambo unatha pano ndi sale. nde muti plesedenti wakuuzani kumalankhula zotelezi. plesdent yemwe sana
The SHINHA teacher is not helpful at all. Her analysis is partly good and to large extent wrong. Mass pregnancies also mean pressure on the side of boys or men around. I suspect these girls were engaged in groups sex somewhere in the villages. In fact Phalombe is known for social pressure when it comes to boys as they are supposed to prove their manhood. As such community leaders and parents should be made to understand their role .
If there’s anything that makes feel low about being Malawian it is this. If there are things that turnish the image of our country, it is these. And this is the heartland of dpp, right? And this is the birthday place of the two Mutharikas. And so if there’s anything why my patriotism is on hold, it is because of Mutharika’s failure to change this. Why can’t he find a way that ensures that girls are protected from this embarrassing situation Why can’t he ensure a girl child is in school and not in front of a man? And if… Read more »
Alomwe Alomwe Nophiyaaaaa kkkkkkkk
Vuto ndi zomwe amaphunzira ku mhlakho wa a lomwe. How do we expect them. To be in school when they are taught to be sexually active at a very tender age? Shupit!
No surprise at all. It’s the trade mark of the people of Phalombe and the surrounding areas. Under aged marriages, teen age pregnancies, high HIV prevalence rate, you name it and you get it from there.
It’s a national crisis my Brother. It’s not only in Phalombe. We have worrisome data for Mchinji, Salima, Kasungu, Mzimba, Nkhata bay, RumphI, Karonga, Chitipa, Nsanje, Neno, Mangochi. If you want to agree with me check with the DEM offices in each district. It’s a crisis for the nation.
Yes but Lhomwe belt needs special attention my friend because the culture does promote sexual activities. Boys and girls alike have to prove that they can handle a women and a man respectively. In other parts of the country the situation is simply due to a milliad of reasons.