The increase in teenage pregnancy each year, especially in Namibia, has become a topic of serious concern for the nation.
The phenomenon has become widely spread, which is a social problem.
When examined closely, it looks as if there is no single answer to account for the rise in teenage pregnancy.
Rather, it becomes apparent that there are many interacting variables that might be taken into account.
This ugly phenomenon has generated a lot of concern; therefore, the author is eager to outline the effects of teenage pregnancy on education.
Pregnancy and motherhood are the major reasons for some girls leaving school.
As paraphrased in The Namibian newspaper of Monday 11 Jully 2022. p.5, Namibia is doing comparatively well in reducing childbearing in adolescence, a statement that will take an ordinary literate person a lot of time to comprehend, given the same recent statistic indicating that January and February this year recorded an unimaginable number of pregnancies, standing at 2 465.
Most of the teachers also identified the educational effects of teenage pregnancy as being associated with high educational losses, both to the government, parents, the teachers and society at large.
This educational loss is a loss to the government, as it wastes meagre public funds and service delivery to those who can’t administer it rightly.
It’s an inevitable norm for parents to provide necessary school material and support, but when their children become pregnant, it discourages most parents from sending their female children to school due to economic difficulties.
Although some schools try to control school children, the problem is not solved, since they cannot provide what they need; for example, extra money needed by some children who come from socio-economic hardships, which make them end up finding themselves in love affairs with some economical advanced elders, resulting in pregnancy, since most of them are not allowed to use contraceptives in such relationships.
It is, therefore, very important for the teachers to have total involvement –even at the tender age of a child; concepts such as co-operation and working together should be taught to girls and boys.
The teenager’s ability to return to school after childbirth and catch up will be difficult.
Since they don’t want to be re-admitted to school, they have to go into training centres to continue their education.
They will lack other trades because, in most cases, they do not meet the training requirements for professions, as they have not gone through full secondary education.
The gap in educational completion between young mothers and young women, who are childless at 15-19 years, increases as they continue their education.
A very few of these young mothers return to school, attend adult education classes or pass a high school equivalency examination.
According to retrospective analysis, however, less than 10% of the youngest adolescent mothers (17 years and under) are high school graduates.
Therefore, the chances of earlier childbirth for teenagers to teenagers to complete school are minimal.
The factors that promote completion of formal education are different in childbearing teenagers from those who postpone children.
Those teenagers who postpone childbirth have a greater amount of self-motivation and support or help from others in their family or peer group.
For teenage mothers, family background plays a unique and ever-important role in school completion.
Those girls from the more advantaged family, with few siblings, a father with formal education and an intact family have a better chance of being supported emotionally and having a family member who accepts some of the child-rearing responsibilities.
Childbearing played a significant role in the olden days – but presently, as we are heading to the fourth industrial revolution, it makes it impossible for those with children to access the labour market; thus, in its wider spectrum, aid to a negative impact on a national moral standard.
Childbearing at very young ages (15-17) and fewer years are associated with greater disruption of schooling and even more complications that are risky to the mother and child.
One must also say that schools for continuing education for girls in certain areas are not sufficient, since the rate of teenage pregnancy is very high – and this leads to high rates of school dropouts for girls.
In the light of this, one would suggest that more schools or centres for continuing education for teenagers and the introduction of family life education for boys and girls be included in the school curriculum to enhance socio-economic development and mitigate the societal evil of the high unemployment rate, poverty and socially unjust.
Goals for the future ought to include the prevention of teenage pregnancy, where there are feasible, appropriate and improvement of socio-economic conditions.
A better and strong relationship between teachers and parents should be established.
A good starting point is an integrated committee comprising the ministries on the issue and various custodians for youth, education, gender, health and private organisations to draw up a plan to face the problem jointly.
Such a plan should include a well-thought-out family law, based on the African tradition of the family and the child.
It is with this approach in mind that the collective efforts will stand the test of time in seeing a Namibian girl child reaching the highest most productive phase of her life.