The country is facing a crisis if this is an all-year-round phenomenon. These were the words of Education CS Amina Mohamed while reacting to reports that more than 30 KCPE candidates had given birth in the course of the three-day exam.
And true to her words, the number was higher than imagined.
More than 100 pregnant girls sat the exam in Kilifi county alone.
Reported cases of births were many, but this report examines the few that made headlines due to their peculiar nature. Some of the candidates gave birth in school, others on their way to school while others in health facilities.
Overall, an estimated 200 girls gave birth in the course of the 2018 KCPE and KCSE exams, putting to question the country’s societal norms and the quality of parenting.
At least 270 primary school girls were reported pregnant in Kilifi over the period the exams got underway. Latest statistics from the County Children’s Department at the time indicated that over 13,000 girls aged between 15 and 19 were expectant in the county.
A report by the county children’s officer George Migosi said Kilifi North recorded the highest pregnancies out of the county’s seven constituencies. It had 3,134 pregnancies, followed by Magarini with 2,861 cases, Kaloleni (2,180), while Malindi and Kilifi South had 1,771 cases each.
Ganze registered 1,362 cases while Rabai had 545 cases. The cases were blamed on high rates of poverty, illiteracy and defilement.
A report by Plan International in 2016 said the adolescents often had their first sexual encounter during disco matanga – dances held at night during funeral ceremonies.
The discos have not been completely wiped out despite a ban by the county government, but a positive response has been recorded. A section of residents criticised the ban saying the root cause of teenage pregnancies is poor upbringing and negligence by parents.