Pupil cries foul as school denies her re-admission after giving birth

A pupil in Rongo Sub County, Migori County who suspended her education for a year at Standard five after getting pregnant has being denied readmission into her former school.

The 15-year-old pupil at Kitunja Primary School who had hoped to resume her education at the school told Citizen Digital the head teacher rejected her application to continue with her education saying that she will be a bad influence to other learners.

She said getting pregnant was her worst mistake, but noted that it could not deter her from achieving her dream in education and accused the school of mistreating her.

Her sentiments were echoed by her mother, Jane Akinyi, who said that she has been visiting the office of the school’s head teacher to seek readmission for her daughter in vain.

Akinyi said the school’s head teacher told her that the daughter will influence other learners negatively because she is now a mother and that they still have to consult widely before they decide on whether to readmit her or not.

She added that they have waiting for a response from the school for the past one month, adding that she is now worried that her daughter may not get the opportunity to complete her education.

Speaking to Citizen Digital, the school’s head teacher, Mr Kennedy Kodongo, rebutted claims that he denied the girl admission because he thought she would be of bad influence to her colleagues, but explained that they want the man responsible for her pregnancy to be held accountable first.

Mr Kodongo said such cases of pregnancy among learners have been on the rise in the region and they now want to set good precedence before readmitting such learners.