This year’s chapter of the BECE came to a close yesterday following the writing of the candidates’ last paper.
The candidates, their teachers and parents must heave sighs of relief, the stress associated with the examination having ended.
We wish to congratulate all stakeholders over the feats chalked so far by the grace of God.
Matters arising out of the assessment of the candidates through the examination are worth conversing about especially since they border on morals. This way moral challenges which have bedeviled society can be possibly addressed. No discussing it at all would presuppose an acquiescence of sorts.
The fact that some persons in society have been flirting with Junior High School (JHS) pupils cannot be disputed given the number of pregnant and nursing mothers in the examination halls.
We wish to, before proceeding with our conversation, express gratitude to the education authorities for making it possible for this category of candidates to write the examination. Education of course should not be denied all citizens regardless the circumstances they find themselves in.
We acknowledge the fact that while poverty plays a role in the perpetuation of juvenile immoralities in some instances however outright parental care deficiencies must be isolated for queries. Parents in some homes have lost the battle and their children’s movements are unknown to them.
There have been occasional references to the rising incidences of juvenile pregnancies across the country in the media with some regions making unenviable showing with the number of juvenile pregnancies listing badly.
Surprisingly the subject is often glossed over with no attempt at bringing it to the front burner for ample discussion aimed at addressing it.
It is wrong for school-going kids to get pregnant. Even disturbing is the ‘business as usual’ aftermath of such pregnancies. Men responsible for disturbing the lives of these girls are often not even queried for their unacceptable conduct.
Some of these young girls, their reproductive organs still developing, risk their lives by getting pregnant this early. The stress associated with pregnancy is by itself a challenging ordeal for these girls to weather.
Often left to fend for themselves because the adults who impregnated them are unable to take care of them, some of these girls are pitiable sights as they go through the stages of pregnancy.
We should be saddened by the widespread cases of juvenile pregnancies among especially girls who should have focused on their education rather than on predatory adult males in the first place.
One of the measures required to stem the rising incidence of juvenile pregnancies is educating girls especially on the threshold of adolescents about the sex and its implications on their lives.
Denying female adolescents education on sex makes them more prone to succumbing to the overtures of predatory adults.
This is a subject we should take up at the policy level so an effective solution can be arrived at.