Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba has identified poverty, inadequate sexual and reproductive health information, early sexual debut, and weak parental guidance as key factors driving teenage pregnancies among schoolgirls. According to Ogamba, research by government agencies, including the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, shows that these factors contribute significantly to teenage pregnancies. The issue has led to a substantial number of schoolgirls dropping out of school.
Ogamba told the Senate that early pregnancy accounts for 66 per cent of teenage school dropouts, with 93 per cent of affected girls reporting that the pregnancies were unintended. Other factors identified include negative peer influence and pressure, inadequate provision of basic needs by parents, alcohol and drug abuse, illicit brews, inadequate community awareness, and incest. These factors highlight the complexity of the issue and the need for a comprehensive approach to address it.
The CS also cited the practice of disco matanga and the circumstances of learners who attend schools far from home and rent houses in nearby markets, saying this can expose them to opportunities to engage in sexual activities. This, combined with the lack of parental guidance and inadequate sexual health information, increases the risk of teenage pregnancies. Ogamba emphasized the need for a multisectoral approach to address the issue.
Ogamba was responding to questions by Senator Catherine Mumma on how the Ministry of Education monitors teenage pregnancies among learners, the tools used to collect data, and the number of cases recorded between 2023 and 2025. Mumma had also sought county and subcounty-level data on teenage pregnancies involving schoolgirls, information on whether teachers were among the perpetrators, and the number of defilement cases within the school system that had been prosecuted.
Ogamba said the ministry currently does not have comprehensive and disaggregated data showing the exact number of schoolgirls who have become pregnant, dropped out, or successfully returned to school. He attributed this to the lack of a comprehensive information management framework for disaggregating reported pregnancies among learners and identifying perpetrators. The ministry relies on reports submitted by school heads and teachers, which are not sufficient on their own.
Data from the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey and the Kenya Health Information System put the number of teenage pregnancies in the first months of 2023 at 110,821 among adolescents aged 10 to 19. Of these, 6,110 involved girls aged 10 to 14, while 104,711 cases involved adolescents aged 15 to 19. Ogamba noted that these are general population health statistics, not specifically for the Ministry of Education.
Despite the efforts to address teenage pregnancies and improve data collection, Ogamba said many teenage mothers face significant barriers when attempting to return to school. Financial constraints, stigma and discrimination, childcare responsibilities, gaps in implementation of the re-entry policy, and lack of awareness were among the challenges he identified. The ministry is working to address these challenges and support teenage mothers in resuming their education.
Key points
- The Ministry of Education lacks comprehensive data on teenage pregnancies among learners.
- Poverty, inadequate sexual health information, and early sexual debut are key factors driving teenage pregnancies.
- Many teenage mothers face significant barriers when attempting to return to school.
