The incident occurred on Tuesday morning.
The 15-year-old learner reportedly drew attention of other
learners, with some helping her in delivering the baby. Teachers also assisted
in the delivery process.
The school head, Mr Phillip Mapiravana confirmed the
incident. He, however, said the girl gave birth at the hostels.
“Yes, it is true, the girl was doing Form Three at our
school. She is safe and we have since notified her parents in Gweru. That is
all I can say for now,” he said.
Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education spokesperson,
Mr Taungana Ndoro said arrangements have been made for the child to receive
post-natal care.
“Yes, it is true that one of our learners gave birth in the
hostels and she is presently receiving post-natal attention. The school led by
the health coordinator, who is a trained teacher, assisted her in giving
birth,” he said.
Mr Ndoro said the ministry has since deployed learner
welfare officials to assist the learners.
“We have also deployed our learner welfare department to
provide socio-psycho support to the pupil as well as other pupils at the
school,” he said.
The latest development comes at a time when the country is
grappling with issues of child pregnancy and marriages.
The number of pregnant girls who drop out of school is
still high across the country despite the existence of a law allowing them to
remain in school even after being impregnated.
The Education Act which was amended last year makes it
illegal to expel pupils who fall pregnant.
Teenage pregnancies or child marriages have been identified
as some of the reasons contributing to pupils dropping out of school.
Recently, a nine-year-old Tsholotsho girl was raped and
fell pregnant. The girl was assisted to deliver at the United Bulawayo
Hospitals.
The First Lady Dr Auxillia Mnangagwa is at the forefront in
the fight against the scourge having lined up a number of programme such as the
educative Nhanga/Gota/Ixhiba programme to conscientise women and girls against
indulging in early sexual debuts.
Lobby groups are also at the forefront calling for stiffer
penalties for perpetrators.
The Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education has
launched a “Catch up Strategy’ as a way of returning to school children who
drop out of school due to various reasons, including pregnancies.
In Kwekwe District alone, a total of 1 182 learners who had
dropped out of school were returned to class courtesy of the ‘Catch-Up
Strategy’.
Of these, a majority of 633 are girls who had either fallen
pregnant or married. Herald
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