According to
the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education 2024 report on Secondary School
Dropouts there are thousands of learners who dropped out of school for reasons
such as pregnancy, financial challenges, marriage, child Labour, illness,
special needs, expulsion, absconding and death.
Financial
burdens topped the list with 5 885 girls and 6 736 boys failing to continue
with their education due to these constraints. A total of 4 561 girls dropped
out of school and got married while 232 boys also joined the marriage
institution.
While the
report did not detail the age groups that left school because of marriage, a
number of these learners are under-age and Zimbabwe continues to battle child
marriage which is illegal and largely performed by some religious sects.
Sadly, 234
learners died in 2024 and 351 others dropped out due to illness. A total of 100
delinquents were expelled from the education system and could not continue
pursuing their education because of the various offences they performed.
With the rise
of artisanal mining and farming activities taking place in various parts of the
country, about 832 children left school to go and work in these areas and other
places possibly due to economic challenges where learners end up assisting
parents with labour.
National Aids
Council (NAC) Bulawayo Province reported that a number of school going age
girls dropped out of school in 2024 alone, raising the need to increase
awareness on abstinence among the girls who are still in school and bringing to
book perpetrators having sex with minors.
Despite the
country passing the law which criminalises sexual intercourse with children
below the ages of 18, teenagers continue to fall pregnant, a development which
threatens gains made in the fight against HIV.
National Aids
Council (NAC) Bulawayo Provincial Manager Mrs Sinatra Nyathi said young people
continue to drive new HIV infections.
“About 50
percent of new infections are coming from young people with adolescent girls
and young women the big drivers. There are a lot of factors that affect them
ranging from sexual violence, we also realise there are many young girls going
into sex work. As a province our statistics for teen pregnancies are going up,
they are actually worrisome because for last year we had over 2 000 and that is
a lot,” said Mrs Nyathi.
She said most
young girls getting pregnant hide their pregnancies from parents and guardians
and do not register at health centres with some only going to hospitals when
they are already in advanced labour. Sunday News
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