The Complexity of Re-admission of Pregnant Schoolgirls in Uganda: A Critical Exploration of Religious Education Teachers’ Perceptions and Attitudes
Abstract
The study investigated RE teachers’ perceptions and attitudes towards the new policy to admit pregnant learners to complete schools. Uganda experiences high rates of teenage pregnancy that often result in young girls dropping out of school and never achieving from education. Teenage pregnancy was exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic when schools were closed for almost two years. Consequently, the Ministry of Education introduced a new policy, the ‘Pregnant Girls' School Policy’ (PGSP), which mandates the re-enrollment of pregnant and breastfeeding teenagers in primary and secondary schools. This policy is based on the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) Article 4, which recognises the right to education for everyone without discrimination. Although the PGSP is meant to protect and support teenage girls who become pregnant, it contradicts the content of Religious Education (RE), which teaches against premarital sex and teenage pregnancy and goes against traditional cultural values that emphasise virginity until marriage. In Uganda, teenage pregnancy is viewed as a negative thing for school-going girls. Therefore, this investigation sought to understand the perspectives of teachers regarding the new school policy of keeping pregnant teenagers and mothers in school. The study employed a qualitative phenomenological research design and purposively selected RE teachers from schools that participated in a CBC monitoring program by the Ministry of Education. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions, and a constructivist grounded theory approach was used for data coding and analysis. RE teachers expressed concerns that the PGSP is inconsistent with the content of RE, creates a moral dilemma, interferes with the power dynamics between learners and teachers, makes class control and management difficult, adds more workload to teachers, and disrupts normal school and classroom settings.
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