The government has reiterated its commitment to protect the girl child, expressing its desire to see them attain the highest educational qualifications.
This was echoed by the Prime Minister, Mr Kassim Majaliwa, in his remarks on separate occasions while addressing residents in various villages in Ruangwa District.
On a four-day end-of-the-year leave that he has decided to turn into a working one to encourage development projects in the district which is also his constituency in Parliament, the prime minister said girls should be allowed to pursue education up to Form Six and beyond.
“We have insisted several times that girls should be left to study up to Form Six; when they go to university, they will be in a better position to make their own decisions. Anyone found to have impregnated a girl child faces up to 30 years in prison,” he warned.
The PM said the government was looking forward to have professionals in areas such as medicine, law, politics and technical work who are women.
Mr Majaliwa, on the other hand, warned parents who are fond of receiving bribe from men found to have impregnated their daughters to “put the matter under the carpet,” saying that they risk being imprisoned according to the law. “As a parent, if you find out that your daughter has been impregnated, inform authorities immediately for further action.
If you allow them to bribe you to keep silent, the law will take its course against you as well as it will be against the perpetrator of the crime,” he warned.
During the tour, Mr Majaliwa was informed that there are some schools with only male teachers after which he directed the District Education Officer to address the situation by transferring them from urban areas to rural areas to create gender balance.
“There are schools in Ruangwa Township with many male and female teachers and yet I am told there is a school with only male teachers.
There must be female teachers since there are some issues that female pupils cannot discuss comfortably with male teachers,” the PM observed.
Earlier, Lindi Regional Commissioner (RC), Mr Godfrey Zambi, said the region faced a serious problem in form of drop-outs in both primary and secondary schools, as many students enrolled for Standard One and Form One drop out before completing their studies.