STATISTICS indicate that more than 16,000 girls last year dropped out of school on account of teenage pregnancies and adolescent marriages.
According to Education Minister Michael Kaingu, about 13,200 cases were recorded at Primary school level while the remainder was recorded at Secondary school level.
Dr Kaingu says the spate in teenage pregnancies has increased poverty levels as the girl-child remains vulnerable and without education to have a stable future.
In 2013, the country recorded about 14,000 cases of teenage pregnancies and the increase from last year’s figures is something that is of grave concern.
Going back five years, the figure is nearly 100,000 as the numbers recorded in 2013 brought overall cases to more than 70,000.
This week, I have decided to discuss the topic on teenage pregnancies and adolescent marriages because the scourge is defeating the whole purpose of educating the girl-child.
The figure Dr Kaingu is talking of is not only striking but a point of reflection to ascertain what the root cause of teenage pregnancies and adolescent marriages.
Most of rural Zambia is under-developed and people do not have adequate access to facilities that can occupy them away from indulging in illicit activities at a tender age.
There is need for the Government to put up youth recreation centers in the rural areas where young people can be engaged in career building activities while they are away from school.
The Government must reach out to traditional leaders with awareness programmes for their subjects to train their children on keeping away from bad vices such as premature sex.
Traditional leaders also have their role to play in realigning certain cultural practices that disadvantage the girl child.
Culture is important and must be preserved but is the modern era where the rural area is also being integrated into the urban community; some practices such as marrying off girls at a tender age should be revisited.
People found marrying off their child at a tender age for any reason deserve to be persecuted and these are laws which our kingmakers at traditional level should enforce.
Most young people in the urban areas are enjoying a fresh wave of technological advancement but this has also come with its negative consequences.
Girls and boys are familiarising themselves with material that is ruinning their morals and preventive measures begin with the households from where these young people are accessing these gadgets.
There is also need to regulate the formation of boarding houses which are being used for alternative accommodation by students and pupils.
In as much as these facilities are welcome, authorities must ensure that there is a laid procedure regulating the establishment of these houses because utilisation may not always be for the intended purposes.
Zambia has recently attained Millennium Development Goal (MDG) number two of 2015 which spells out requirements for the provision of universal primary education.
This means the Government has in this regard shown political will by doing its part in the quest to deliver quality education to Zambians.
However the efforts have been hampered by yet again a recorded increase in teenage pregnancies.
Organisations such as the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) and the Forum for African Women Educationalists of Zambia (FAWEZA) must step to the plate and introduce initiatives to fight teenage pregnancies.
The efforts of the non-governmental organisations go beyond making suggestions for the Government to implement but the actual implementation stage must be collaborative.
FAWEZA, YWCA and others must strengthen existing partnerships with organisations such as the United Nations International Children’s Education fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Programme (WHO) to invest in sustainable schemes aimed at fighting the scourge.