More girls drop out of school for ‘early motherhood’

By JOSEPH MASHA

Kilifi County

More than 50 girls in Ganze and Bahari dropped out of school last year due to early pregnancies, District Education Office records have shown.

Records from Kilifi DEO office indicate most of the girls got impregnated by relatives, others by schoolmates and yet others by non-school-going people.

Kilifi DEO Dickson ole Keis confirmed cases of schoolgirls engaging in sexual acts with close relatives were rampant in the area.

"High poverty levels force the girls to engage in early sexual relations in exchange for goodies like money," he said.

The officer said the trend affected the transition rate of girls from primary to secondary school because most of them drop out before reaching Standard Eight.

"Records from different schools show enrollment of children in lower primary were very high, but as they progressed to upper classes, the number reduced after some girls drop out due to early pregnancies, among other social and economic challenges," he said.

Forced marriages

Ganze DEO Charles Nyakundi said many schoolgirls left school at lower classes after being forced into early marriages.

Mr Nyakundi said parents collude to marry off their girls to wealthy old men so that they can get money in dowry.

"We have encountered cases where some parents directly get involved in the process of ensuring their girls get married to old rich men and this problem is brought by poverty levels facing many families," said Nyakundi.

At the same time, a nominated councillor from Kilifi County Council Grace Mboja urged police to arrest and prosecute people who engaged in criminal acts like rape and defilement of young girls.

Ms Mboja said cases of rape in the area were on the rise.