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The Deputy Principal of John Mount Nelson Sefali said last year alone at least eleven Form A girls fell pregnant and had to leave school as the it cannot cater for pregnant school girls. Sefali added that this showed them that something needs to be done to cut down the number of teenage pregnancy. They decided to use orientation time for counseling children about the problem. - Some of them became pregnant (as it is commonly known in our villages) as young as under 13 years of age and the so called lucky ones, get married only to return to their families later with no education and a number of children, he pointed out. He noted that some of this children become pregnant during school holidays after they had written their primary leaving certificate examinations and out of ignorance they enrol at high schools only to find realise later on that they have become pregnant. Sefali said if the girl alleged that the father of the unborn child is a fellow student, he is also expelled. In some cases the two families would work the problem out alone and agree for the father to further his studies so that he would be able to support the girl financially as soon as he is working. He added that in many cases the pregnant student is mocked by her fellow students to an extend that she would leave school without the knowledge of the teachers. He pointed out that health educators would provide the students with briefings on adolescent health while Blue Cross would provide information on the usage of drugs. Lineo, 18, (not her real name), a teenage girl who became pregnant, said she had to drop of her second year at high school as due to pregnancy. "I was only 14 years of age and had a notion that it would never happen to me. In the first few months I never believed that I was pregnant I just thought my periods were late and everything would be normal again," she said. She added that her neighbour realise that she was pregnant and told her mother who immediately took her to the doctor and the doctor confirmed her worst fears. Lineo said she hasn't returned to school ever since, while the father of her child is in the army and has moved on with his life. She is only armed with her primary school leaving certificate which is making life impossible for her because she cannot get a good job. These young girls become mothers before they could even understand anything about themselves, their health and the dangers they might be exposed to as a result of early pregnancy. Not many of these teenagers bounce back after their "fall" and resume their studies. Some of them get involved in doomed marriages and produce more children. By Thandiwe Solwandle, Mopheme (Maseru, Lesotho)
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