School Age Mothers
By Claudia Liburd
Nevis Reporter-SKNVibes.com
(Chalestown; Nevis): With the advent of a new government in Nevis has come the advent of a new legislation: Young mothers are now welcomed back at Secondary or Primary schools. The new legislation has stirred up quite a controversy as many locals are in disagreement with it.
The Weekend Vybz went into the Streets of Nevis recently to ask the citizens about that topic which will never grow old.
Some felt that young mothers critically need an education to support their new family and to also invest in their self-advancement. They argued that even though a child has created a child, one out of the two need to be educated enough to set an example and thus lead the duo.
While others felt that the young mothers will set a bad example if they are allowed to return and will soon contaminate the school system with a surplus of illegitimate babies.
I found that both sides presented salient points. Experts say that motivation levels can soar once the baby is born. The motivating force of having a child is often extremely powerful for young women who have had poor experiences within~~Adz:Right~~ mainstream education.
They no longer just have to think about their own self-development but they have to think about the holistic development of their new baby.
I feel that we should not ostracize these young women from society just because they have made a mistake. Many of them have learnt from their experience and are eager to move forward and do right by themselves and for their child.
On the flip side early unmarried parenthood is generally tied to reduce educational achievement, marginal income-earning capacity, and welfare dependence. Studies also show that if the teenage parents do marry they are more likely to divorce than older married couples.
While I believe the legislation is pertinent, I feel that finding a way to prevent young women from getting pregnant while in school is a much more urgent matter. Society needs to offer these young woman educational services to increase their knowledge of and about birth control and provide them with quality sex education that begins at an early age.
Now that you've heard my views let's hear what the good people of Nevis had to say when we asked them the following question:
Do you think young girls who get pregnant in school should be allowed to return after they give birth to their child?
"Young ladies should be able to go back to school not necessarily in the main stream but into a class where they can learn to look after their child and teach their child not to do exactly what they have done. Sometimes it is an accident and sometimes it is on purpose but I think children should be able to go back to school because at the end of the day a child cannot teach a child."
Tracy Brandy
"I think the best thing to do is to let them go back to school. In spite of the fact that it
is a child having a child, someone has to be educated, someone has to lead, and somebody has to set the example to show right from wrong. As the good book would tell you things will not get better so it is best that we prepare them now knowing that they have made a mistake. These young women are very eager to try things and they realize what the consequences are all about and the majority of them have learnt from that and we who are in a position to make decisions should agree on having them go back to school for an education because knowledge is power."Lee Swanston a.k.a. Garlic
"According to the Education Act they have to come back to school if they are under 16 years of age. Abiding by that Act they definitely have to come back to school. Research has shown that if they do not return it means that their life chances become much poorer and by that I mean that their earning potential, potential to go back to school in the long term becomes much less. If they can complete their education, this is the time to do it so that they can earn enough money to keep themselves and their offspring and hopefully keep off the welfare system."Maureen Adams
"I think they need to go back to school because they need to finish their education.
Yes, they were pregnant and they have bore a child but that does not mean that their
education has to stop. There is a lot of prejudice about whether they should go back but that is old time story and we live in a modern world now."
Llewelyn Clarke
"I think that they should not be able to go back into the theory setting but they should go into evening classes. As mothers~~Adz:Right~~ they need to be home taking care of their children and at the end of the day they will get the reward by going to evening classes and getting someone to take care of the children in the night. In the day they should spend time with their children but at the same time receive an education but not in the regular classroom setting."
Anonymous
"I have mixed feelings with regards to that. What I can say is that the whole thing with school aged mothers is the immoral practice of having sexual relations when they are not mentally, physically, or psychologically prepared for it even though their hormones are telling them otherwise. The whole idea originally I think was to prevent them from having sex in school even though it is a big thing and as a result a girl may get pregnant. I also think that the boy once he is going to school that he should face the same consequences. For all intents and purposes let them stay out and that will hopefully discourage other girls from becoming sexually active before they are ready for it."
Roland Jeffers
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