MORE GIRLS DROP OUT OF SCHOOL IN LIRA DUE TO PREGNANCY

Ritah is 18 years old and a pupil at one of the schools in Lira District. Ritah is a mother after getting pregnant at 17 while in P6. Her dream has always been to go through school and live a good life as an educated woman and when she conceived,this was shuttered. However with support from her parents who agreed to take care of her baby, she chose to continue pushing her dream and at 18 years, she is one of the P7 candidates at her school. Ritah has turned into a counsellor to fellow girls at school and keeps telling them about the danger of early sex. She is not alone. Scovia is 17 years old and in primary six at another school in Lira. While in P5, she discovered she was pregnant at the age of 16 and her boyfriend was not ready to marry her. But with support from her mum, she was given 6 tablets to abort the baby so she would continue with school. Despite achieving this, the pain she went through is fresh on her mind. This happened last year and in the same year, 23 girls dropped out of the same school due to pregnancy and early marriage. According to the headmaster of the school, Joel Otwal, in the second term of 2018, he noticed that a good number of girls had not reported for third term prompting him to reach out to their parents He says many girls drop out to school due to pregnancy attributing this to poverty and a poor culture of parents not valuing education. As High Sound for Children continued to comb villages in Lira, we noticed that men, who are supposed to be family heads storm bars as early as 10 am and leave late explaining the high poverty rates. The LC one chairperson of Walela village in an interview with HSC said many people are still used to the idea of being given as it was during the war and sensitization is needed to change their mindset. He says this is having a negative impact on many children especially girls who are not supported through school due to lack of money. The executive director Foundation for integrated development in Lira, Harriet Adong, says they have started introducing the girls to income-generating skills so they can support themselves through school. According to Raising voices programs officer, Ms Yivonne Laroni,47.9% of girls experience sexual violence in schools and 49% of girls get pregnant before the age of 18. She says the Eastern and Northern parts of the country have been hit worst. To her, Failure by the government to punish the perpetrators of the problem is the reason behind the high figures. "You find that when a girl conceives while in school, parents and authorities agree on compensation from the perpetrators. If these people could be arrested and tried in courts of law, they would come back reformed, which is not happening" Ms Laroni said. However the commissioner basic education at the ministry of education, Dr. Mukasa Lusambu says they continue to reach out to different areas especially those that have been hit mainly. " There are some districts where records show that there is an escalation of teenage pregnancies, district of Busoga, Kasese, and Bundibuggyo among others. Many issues are cultural and social-economical but we are trying to address these issues." "We launched the program entitled Go Back to school and we are saying, even if you have produced, go back to school, we are not condoning the practice but if the accident has happened, let these children be supported, there is a girl who was supported in Karamoja and she is now a Nurse, we are proud of her. Let's not give up on these children" He emphasized. Meanwhile, the chairperson of the parliamentary forum on children Bernard Atiku says that they are engaging local communities to sensitize parents on the need to support their children through school. "Many parents dont not give their children all that is required for school and these girls are tempted to look for money. This on top of the poor environment they study coupled with poor hygiene affects them". He said. Different child rights organizations have teamed up through a coalition to reduce the numbers dropping out of school due to pregnancy.