7, 200 Teenage Pregnancies in 2018/19 Recorded in Basic Schools

A stunning 7,293 teenage pregnancies were recorded in basic and second cycle schools in the 2018/2019 academic year across the country, says Benedicta Seidu, the National Director of the Girls Education Unit at the Ghana Education Service (GES).

According to official data, Upper Primary schools recorded 1,024 cases, a staggering 4,836 cases were recorded in Junior High Schools (JHS), while 1,433 cases were documented in senior high schools (SHSs).

Mrs Seidu made the disclosure at the opening of the third Campaign for Women Education (CAMFED) Alumnae Association (CAMA) National Annual General Meeting in Tamale.

According to the data revealed by Mrs Seidu, of these numbers, a total of 3,199 of the teenage mothers were re-enrolled after they had given birth.
The cause of this rising spate of teenage pregnancy is unclear as stakeholders call for more monitoring and education for teenagers to avoid such unplanned pregnancies.