Pregnancy, abortion high in Dangme West schools

The Headmaster of a Junior High School in the Dangme West District of the Greater Accra Region, Venatus Attah is concerned about pregnancy and abortion cases among students in the District.

With barely a month to go for the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE), three Junior High School girls at Ayetepa District Assembly Basic 'A' school in the Dangme West District of the Greater Accra Region preparing to sit for the exam, are suspected to be pregnant.

There are reports of rampant pregnancy cases in the area, leading to abortions which result in deaths in most cases.

Speaking to Joy News, the Headmaster of Ayetepa District Assembly Basic 'B' school, Venatus Attah said almost every term, there are pregnancy cases in the various schools in the district. He says such cases are very obvious to all the teachers, but abortion cases become public knowledge when complications set in.

He described the abortion rate in the area as very alarming citing the case of a Junior High School girl who died at Mangotsonya, a nearby town shortly before schools went on vacation in December, last year.

Mr Venatus Attah says most of the girls who go through this experience have been left to fend for themselves by their parents who live outside the town and he identified poverty as the main cause of the problem.