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Rwanda govt says no to pregnancy tests for schoolgirls

Wednesday February 28 2018
girls

Rwandan government has dismissed calls to conduct pregnancy tests for schoolgirls as a way to curb teen pregnancies. PHOTO | CYRIL NDEGEYA | NATION

By RODRIGUES RWIRAHIRA

Rwandan government has dismissed calls to conduct pregnancy tests for schoolgirls as a way to curb teen pregnancies.

Parents and educators had earlier this month raised concern over rising numbers of unplanned pregnancies among teenage girls saying it was among the key issues hindering education and called on the government to buy test kits for schools.

According to statistics from the Ministry of Health, some 17,444 schoolgirls had unwanted pregnancies last year alone resulting in many dropping out of school or suspending their education for a period of time.

“The Ministry of Education wishes to point out that there has been no discussion, and there are no plans to conduct pregnancy tests on students,” said Dr Marie Christine Gasingirwa, the director-general of Science, Technology and Research, in a statement sent to Rwanda Today.