Drop in girls' school enrolment highlighted

Despite the fact that the Botswana government prides itself on gender equality in school enrolment, girls struggle against huge disadvantages to obtain an education. "The hardships the girl child had to face in the past are still endured today. It all starts at home in the morning when she wakes up to make sure that the house is swept and prepares food for the whole family [before going to school]," said Boipelo Semere, a member of the Girl Education Movement. According to the Ministry of Education, there has been a dip in the enrolment of girls in primary schools from 50.7 percent in 1993 to 49.4 percent in 2003. Girl enrolment in secondary school has also fallen from 53.5 percent in 1993 to 51.9 percent in 2003. It has long been recognised that improving access to quality education for girls dramatically improves other indicators of human well being. "For instance, it is known that the majority of countries with the lowest secondary school enrolments rates for girls also have among the highest rates of child mortality, where more than 15 percent of children die before age five," Education Minister George Kgoroba told IRIN. "Bringing down the barriers that keep girls out of school makes schools more welcoming for boys as well as girls. Those barriers include schools that are too far from home, lack of clean water and separate toilet facilities, and where the threat of violence is ever-present in and around the school environment," he said. Speaking at the launch of the UN Children's Fund report, "State of the World's Children", in the capital, Gaborone, this week, Kgoroba said Botswana should ensure that all boys and girls had access to a basic education as a means of reducing poverty, child mortality and HIV/AIDS. Safeguarding children against unprotected sex is a significant lesson to be learnt. Over 20 percent of girls in Botswana aged 15 to 19 are HIV-positive, while 17 percent fall pregnant. There are also ever-increasing reports of child abuse. "Teenage pregnancy forces girls to drop out of school, and this is further exacerbated by laws and regulations that are not sufficiently gender-sensitive," said Batsho Nthoi, who is also a member of the Girl Education Movement. Regulation 34 of the Education Act requires pregnant girls to be excluded from school for a period of six months and makes the procedure for readmission very cumbersome. "There is no reason to suspend girls falling pregnant because there is no proof that pregnancy constitutes any risk to the health or physical condition of the girl," Ntoli told IRIN.