NAIROBI, Kenya Oct 8 – The Ministry of Education has admitted it cannot establish the true scale of teenage pregnancies among school-going girls or determine how many teachers have been implicated in the cases, citing gaps in its data collection and reporting systems.

📻 Breaking It Down

Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba told the Senate on Wednesday that the ministry lacks a comprehensive system for collecting and consolidating information on pregnancies among learners and the alleged perpetrators.

Ogamba said the ministry largely relies on school heads and teachers to identify and report cases, a system he acknowledged has significant shortcomings.

“At present, the ministry does not have a comprehensive framework and information management system to aggregate data on reported pregnancies and perpetrators,” he said.

📌 What You Need to Know

The CS said some school heads were also reluctant to disclose information, making it difficult for the government to establish the extent of teenage pregnancies and cases involving teachers.

“Some school heads are hesitant to give information for fear of exposing secrets and weaknesses,” he said.

Ogamba was responding to questions by nominated Senator Catherine Mumma, who had sought detailed data on teenage pregnancies recorded in 2023 and 2024.

Ms Mumma wanted the ministry to provide the number of affected learners in every county and sub-county, as well as the number of cases involving teachers.

She also sought information on defilement cases arising from pregnancies identified within the school system, including the number that had been prosecuted.

But Ogamba said the ministry could not provide the requested figures because there was no system linking information held by schools with disciplinary bodies and criminal justice agencies.

📰 Source: Capital FM Kenya