BY WINSTONE MUSISI
More than 27,000 school going girls aged 12 to 18 have terminated their primary and secondary education studies in Uasin Gishu County in the past four years due to adolescent pregnancy.
Deputy Governor Daniel Chemno who termed the figure as alarming, claimed that perpetrators of the vice were mostly boda boda riders and tutors who he regretted were still walking free in the villages.
He claimed that about 70 public primary and secondary schools in the county have been affected by an alarming number of drop-out among girls in the age bracket of 12 to 18.
“The high adolescent pregnancy among girls aged 12 to 18 is a disaster which calls for concerted efforts among parents, teachers and other education stakeholder to combat the vice which is threatening to get out of hand in the region,” said Chemno.
The Deputy Governor made the remarks during the disbursement of bursary to bright students from needy families drawn from the six sub counties that comprise the devolved unit in a ceremony that was presided over by Governor Jackson Mandago.
He has asked the security agencies to move with speed and arrest the perpetrators of the vice so that they can be taken to court and
charged with defilement.
“The police should move with speed and take the people who have ruined the lives of school girls to face defilement charges in the court of law.
Chemno said the most hit are public primary schools located in interior parts of the county that have a high number of pregnancies
among girls aged between 12 and 18.
“There urgent need for aggressive awareness campaigns to be rolled out in rural areas in the county where more school going girls have been forced to terminate their studies after being impregnated by their teachers and boda boda riders,” said Chemno