The incidence of teenage pregnancy among J.H.S girls in the Yilo Krobo municipality

Abstract

The study was to find out the incidence of teenage pregnancy among Junior High Schools girls in the Yilo Krobo District. The incidence of teenage pregnancy among school girls has been of great concern to government and other stakeholders in education in Ghana. Four research questions were formulated to guide the study. A questionnaire was designed for 360 JHS girls’ students, 12 girl child coordinators and 30 sampled parents of the PTA. Random sampling and purposive sampling technique was used in sampling respondents for the study. Descriptive statistics was used for the analysis and discussion of data collected from the field. The findings revealed that failure of parents to meet children’s needs and broken homes are major causes of teenage pregnancy. Also, most of the students were of the view that parents encourage them to engage in sex which leads to teenage pregnancy among girls in the Yilo Krobo Municipality. According to the girl child coordinators, teenage pregnancy could be minimized through, intensifying guidance and counselling services in various schools. Parents should work hard to provide the basic needs of their children and also to educate them about sex. Curriculum planners/developers should ensure that sex education is included in the curriculum. Through PTA meeting, parents should be made aware of the effect of teenage pregnancy on the parents themselves and the community as a whole.