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FREETOWN: Teenage girls are not being allowed back to the classroom as schools reopen this week across Sierra Leone after months of closure due to the Ebola crisis.
The Sierra Leonean government has said statistics prove that pregnant girls always fail when theytake their exams.
The authorities managing the school openings also claimed it is not morally right to encourage the sight of pregnant girls in schools.
Both the government and the authorities have said girls can return to school after they have given birth.
Plan International has expressed its concern over this measure, emphasising that girls who have a right to education.
Casely Coleman, Country Director of Plan Sierra Leone, said: “Plan expresses its concern over the decision by the Ministry of Education not to allow pregnant girls to return to school and write their exams,” he said.
“Plan urges the government to reconsider that decision, as access to education is a fundamental human right and is also a powerful weapon to address teenage pregnancy and other forms of child abuses.”
Thousands of Sierra Leonean children who have missed out on lessons since July 2014 are nowreturning to classes to continue their studies.
Plan has joined a consortium of child protection agencies to engage with government to reconsider the decision to ban pregnant girls from school.
Fanta, 15, told Plan she felt sad when she saw her friends going to school when she couldn’t due to early pregnancy.
“I was attending secondary school in Freetown, but I got pregnant trying to fend for my family while schools were shut,” she explained.
“I had to go and do petty trading in the central town market, after which I’d go to the market and buy cooking condiments and go home and cook.
“I hope and pray for the baby’s safe delivery and that my parents will allow me go back and finish my schooling as that was my dream. I hope to become a nurse in future.
Baindu, 14, who has returned to school to take her exams, said: “I am so worried about my friends who have got pregnant and will not take their exams.
“I hope and pray that they continue their school after giving birth as girl child education is best in our country.”
Schools in Sierra Leone were supposed to re-open in March, but re-opening was delayed due to a surge in Ebola cases.
A three day Ebola lockdown followed in late March to try to stamp out the outbreak.
The World Health Organisation said on 8th April 2015 that 3831 deaths have been recorded in Sierra Leone since the beginning of the Ebola outbreak.
Schools in Liberia and Guinea are also now open, and this week it is hoped that Sierra Leone can finally begin to return to normal.
Coleman added: “Plan welcomes the re-opening of the schools, as thousands of children have missed out on a key part of their education in the past eight months.
“Getting them back into the classrooms is a really important step in getting back to normal, and pregnant girls must be a part of this.”
“It must be a priority to get children back into school. If these children are to contribute to the development of our country, it must start now with their education and learning."
Students face temperature and health checks, and reduced class sizes from around 40 to 50 pupils to 25 to 30, to ensure that no further infection is spread.
Some returning pupils said they were happy to be back, but sad too for the students who will not be returning because they died from Ebola. The students also say they are afraid of playing with friends.
“The truth is am happy being in school but at the same time am afraid of playing with my friends,” said Mohammed. “Especially when one of the Ebola laws is for us to avoid body contact.”
Plan has been responding to Ebola in all the three worst-affected countries: Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
The organisation’s Ebola response has been designed around helping children and communities survive the disease and its widespread impact on their lives.
Most recently Plan has been decontaminating schools in preparation for students returning to classrooms.
Plan also has plans to ensure children are safe by training teachers on Ebola prevention, including hand-washing and regular temperature checks.
Earlier this year, Plan published research finding that teenage pregnancies had increased greatly because of Ebola. The report, entitled Beyond the Health Emergency, is published here: http://plan-international.org/about-plan/resources/publications/emergencies/ebola-beyond-the-health-emergency/
