By: Antoinette Abbah
Resistance and stigmatization within households, schools, and communities continue to hamper the smooth implementation of Ghana‘s return to school” policy for pregnant teenage girls. The programme since its inception five years ago is most importantly to expand adolescents’ access to education and retention beyond JHS and SHS level after being pregnant.
However over the years, the initiative has encountered set backs to achieve these set objectives.
Programmes Coordinator at Planned Parenthood Association of Ghana, PPAG, Caesar Kaba Kogoziga in an interview said parents and teachers who are expected to support the girls, often fall short in this regard. “We have seen over the years that teenage mothers are not taking advantage of the policy” he stressed.
PPAG’s Programme Coordinator noted that stigmatization and social pressure also deprives the pregnant girls their comfort and peace of mind in the educational environment.
“Our programme implementation revealed that the environments are not conducive enough for them. They are either tagged as bad girls or isolated because people are of the opinion that they will be bad influence on other girls” Mr Kogoziga added.
“Even key stakeholders such as teachers and parents who are expected to support the girls when they return to school are not really willing to support them ” he said.
Mr. Kogoziga emphasized the urgent need to normalize the policy thereby creating an inclusive atmosphere that encourages pregnant girls and teenage mothers to return to school without fear of judgment or exclusion.
“We need to engage the school and educational authorities, parents and communities to normalise going back to school, while the system must support the girls, rather than fight them” Mr Kogoziga noted.
He said parents must also be ready to support the girls as well as Teachers to enable them move freely around in school.
The Programmes Coordinator, said the PPAG, sends at least 30 teenage mothers back to school every quarter as it is vital for their personal development and the betterment of society as a whole.
It is therefore imperative to address the challenges hampering the implementation of the policy as they are crucial for ensuring that every young girl in Ghana has the opportunity to be educated regardless of their pregnancy status.
Creating a supportive and inclusive educational environment is not only a matter of policy but also a fundamental step toward empowering the future generation of Ghana.
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