How 42,954 Secondary, Primary Schoolgirls Dropped Out Over Pregnancy

At least 42,954 schoolgirls in Tanzania, comprising secondary and primary schools were forced to abandon their education education over unplanned pregnancies, report has indicated.

The report released on Monday by Controller and Auditor General (CAG) of Tanzania says the period covers July 2021 and June 2022.

According to the 2021 to 2022 CAG report presented before the Parliament in the country’s capital Dodoma, out of the 42,954 impregnated schoolgirls, 23,009 were from secondary schools, while the primary schools parted with 19,945.

The figure of the pregnant secondary schoolgirls (23,009) the report further stated represents 28 per cent of 82,236 girls due to complete their secondary education in 2021.

19 local government authorities accounted for the impregnated primary and secondary schoolgirls.

According to the report, the secondary schools with the most impregnated schoolgirls were in Kinondoni municipality in the Dar es Salaam region, with 4,652 girls.

This was closely followed by the Newala district council in the Mtwara region, with 3,783 girls and the Misungwi district council in the Mwanza region with 2,570 girls.

Within the period under review, primary schoolgirls in Kwimba district council in the Mwanza region had the highest number of impregnated girls with 9,045.

Uvinza district council primary school in the Kigoma region came second with 2,172 girls.

According to UNICEF, an estimated 2 million children between the ages of 7 and 13 years in Tanzania are out-of-school.

Almost 70 per cent of children aged 14–17 years are not enrolled in secondary education while a mere 3.2 per cent are enrolled for the final two years of schooling.

Equity and quality pose major challenges. Primary school-aged children from the poorest families are three times less likely to attend school than those from the wealthiest households.