Effects of teenage pregnancy on girls education in the Tano North District

Abstract

The objective of the study was to find out the extent to which girls’ education is being affected by teenage pregnancy in the Tano North District of the Brong Ahafo Region. The study employed the survey method which basically aimed at gathering facts, opinions and attitudes for the purpose of description, explanation, exploration and to answer questions concerning the subject under study. The population of the study comprised young girls who had suffered teenage pregnancy and teenage mothers in and out of Junior High Schools (J.H.S.) within all the five educational Circuits in Tano North district of the Brong Ahafo Region of Ghana. The sample for the study comprised 30 pregnant teenage girls and teenage mothers in and out of Junior High School in the Tano North District. The study employed the snowball sampling technique. A 23-item interview guide questions was used to collect the data. Frequencies and percentages were used to analyze the responses. The results of the study indicate that parental negligence is a major cause of teenage pregnancy in the district. Also, the results showed that adolescents in the district are poor users of contraception It was therefore recommended that the district assemblies should enact bye-laws which will educate parents and guardians about the parental and adult responsibility towards proper education of the girl child. Also, parents, churches, youth associations and social clubs should talk freely and effectively about sex education, teenage pregnancies and its associated consequences.