A multi-stakeholder group including the Ministry of Education recently met at the National Centre for Educational Resource Development (NCERD) to discuss the first draft of the Education Sector Policy on the Reintegration of Adolescent Mothers into the Formal School System. The project is being funded by the United Nations Children Fund [UNICEF].
The group comprised representatives from government ministries and other non-governmental organizations were able to discuss the first draft of the policy and adjust it where necessary.
The goal of the final document is to advance the prevention of adolescent pregnancy and the management of the reintegration of adolescent mothers into the formal school system.
Additionally, it is envisaged that the policy which must be approved by cabinet, will assist in reducing the number of pregnancies among school-age girls and at the same time increase the number of adolescent mothers who re-enter the formal school system to complete their secondary education without any hindrances.
At present, the Ministry does not have a formal policy on this issue and this document will be used to guide how affected young women should be dealt with if confronted with teenage pregnancy.
Should this draft become a formal policy, Guyana will become only the second country in the Caribbean, behind Jamaica, that has such a policy in place to address such issues.