Unwanted pregnancies among secondary school learners in Zimbabwe: A qualitative inquiry into academic consequences

Despite there being much known about unwanted pregnancy, including the number of school girl dropouts from year to year, most studies on the issue have lacked the voices of the learners due to the fact that Zimbabwe still has thousands of learners dropping out each year as a result of unwanted pregnancies. This qualitative study aimed at learning from those who had experienced it first-hand, how the problem of unwanted pregnancy impacts on the academic performance of secondary school learners in Zimbabwe. In total, 16 participants were involved: 6 female learners from Form Three and 4; 4 teachers; 2 school counsellors; 3 parents and one official from ministry of Primary and Secondary Education (Primary and secondary education). In-depth interviews/ focus group discussions were used to collect the data and the data was analysed as themes. The study revealed that for many learners it was feelings of shame, fear of punitive action in the family and expulsion at school that was more detrimental to the learner's education than the pregnancy itself. Attendance—not regular attendance—was the first to fall off the charts, then concentration and participation went, followed by some people withdrawing from exams. Some learners, with consistent support from family and school, remained in school and made a recovery in learning. The chapter recommends confidential well resourced counselling, caring to ensure examination catch up time is deliberated and better implementation of the existing policies of ensuring that learners remain in school when they fall pregnant and parenting.

Keywords: Academic performance, School dropout, Secondary school, teenage pregnancy, Unwanted pregnancy.