Pregnancy order divides most students

President John Magufuli last month issued a stern to students who get pregnant while still in school saying they won’t be allowed to go back to school.

He was speaking at public rally in Chalinze. The same warning went men who impregnate the girls who he said serve lengthy jail terms so that they can put their energies to good use.

This week Young Citizen speaks to students about the President declaration.

Rabia Bakari is a Form One student at Makamba Secondary School says President John Magufuli is right because everything in this world has specific time.

She says as students their main duty is to study and not otherwise.

“Our duty is to study hard and not to engage into sexual activities. At that age most of us don’t have enough knowledge about sex and that is why most girls get pregnant. And worse still such minds and bodies are not mature enough to start a family,” says Rabia.

She adds that the government is already offering free education so it is for them to study hard so as to full fill their dreams otherwise most girls will end up in vocational training centres.

Another student from Makamba Secondary School Juma Omary, too, supports the President because most students no longer take studies seriously and that is why bad behaviour is common in schools.

This order according to him will make them rethink the purpose why they are in school.

“Today’s students lack morals they pretend to know everything and start relationship while they are young. But through the President new warning students will think twice whether to study hard or to stay at home and for men to be jail for 30 years,” says the Form Two student.

A Form Five student at St Mark, Noela Marko believes it is better for the government to find out why it keeps happening before rushing to action.

“It is true that not all who get pregnant do so because they are loose but some were raped due to the poverty or on their way to school and some are raped by their close family members and relatives,” says Noela.

Robert Mroso also at St Mark Secondary School supports Noela’s view adding that it would be productive to give second chance to those who were raped.

Government should allow them to go back to school rather than sending them to vocational training centres.

“Teen mothers should be allowed to go back to school because they have a right to get education you never know they can become lawyers ,Doctors and Engineer but if we leave them on the streets the big bidden will be on their families and Government,” says Robert.

According to Human Rights Watch last year report more than 40 per cent of Tanzanian adolescents aren’t in school and less than a third of girls made it to high school and an estimated 8,000 girl’s drop out each year.