12 female students fall pregnant at Chigodi CDSS in Lilongwe

By Tione Andsen, MANA

Chigodi Community Day Secondary School (CDSS) In Lilongwe has recorded 12 pregnancies during the current academic year after the closure of the learning institutions in March this year due to COVID-19.

The school’s Headteacher, Gladson Mankhambo reporters on Tuesday at Chigodi Area Programme of World Vision Malawi in the area of Traditional Authority Mazengera that before the closure, the school had recorded four pregnancies.

“We have 12 pregnant cases before us and four of which were reported before the closure of schools,” he said.

“We have reports that during the COVID-19 outbreak more female students have fallen pregnant.”

Mankhambo said the known figures so far is 12 and might have some but have not been reported to the school management as of now.

“It will be difficult for us to ascertain what was happening to female students since we do not have control over them now as most are living away from the school.”

He added that the issue has been reported to the District Education Manager (DEM) in Lilongwe.

He was of the view that the girls’ inactivity due to closure of school has made female students prone to such sexual acts and they need to guard against it if they are to return to school safe.

“Parents and Guardians need to rise to the occasion and make sure that female students are protected at all costs.

“If the trend is left unchecked, we will have more female student’s falling in the same trap,” Mankhambo said.

School Health and Nutrition Coordinator for Lilongwe Rural East Education Division, Joseph Kanyangala admitted that the DEM’s office was aware of the pregnancy issue, saying such cases are on the rise not only in Lilongwe but the whole country.

Kanyangala pointed out that one way of keeping students busy during the COVID-19, the Ministry of Education should introduce lessons through radios as well as e-learning in order to keep them busy.

“We believe that if students are kept busy during the school break, possibility of having more pregnancies among female students might be reduced,” he said.

During the COVID-19 school break, Mangochi has recorded 7,000 pregnancies while Mchinji has 169 among school going girls.

Chigodi CDSS is being helped by World Vision Malawi in the provision of school facilities such as classroom blocks, hostels, laboratory and borehole with funding from World Vision New Zealand.