A study on teenage mothers in the Khomas educational region schools

Abstract

No abstract. The following is taken from the author's Introduction:

Statistics have it that women in Namibia are not on par with male counterparts with regard to educational qualifications, occupation of top level positions in society, standard of living and in many other areas (Haihambo-Muethudana, 2002)

It is important to note that the majority of school going children who drop-out of school are girls. In Namibia it has been established that the current enrolment is 80 per cent of school age children. Of these at Grade 10, 22 per cent girls and 20. 4 per cent boys drop out of school. (Ministerial Consultation, 1994: 1)

Early school drop-out is wasteful in two ways; it makes insufficient use of the abilities of the child herself, and it is wasteful of the efforts of the school. Secondly, children may leave school without having acquired a minimum level of basic education

1. 1 Statement of the problem: Many schoolgirls fall pregnant every year, become mothers and fail to complete their formal school career. The purpose of the study was to investigate how those teenage mothers in Khomas region who went back to school coped with being schoolgirls and mothers at the same time, and how the school communities treated them when they returned to school

1. 2 Objectives of the study: The objectives of the study were to: 1. 2. 1 Assess the policy regarding teenage mothers in Khomas Region schools; 1. 2. 2 Find out how parents of teenage mothers felt about their daughters being in school; 1. 2. 3 Find out opinions of principals, teachers and fellow learners on the presence of teenage mothers in school; 1. 2. 4 Find out how the girls coped with being mothers and school girls at the same time; 1. 2. 5 Find out if the teenage mothers received any support from the fathers of their children. 1. 2. 6 Find out if there were any support programs in Namibia to help teenage mothers in schools