Keep pregnant girls in school: teen expert

BANGKOK: -- Pregnant teenagers should be allowed to attend classes both to prolong their education and to demonstrate to their peers the consequences of premature sexual relations, a seminar on sex education was told yesterday.

Under the current educational system, pregnant teenagers are automatically expelled from school - a practise that adversely affects their social lives and eliminates their chances for completing their education, said Waranuch Chinnawornsophark, a teenager rights advocate with the Programme For Appropriate Technology In Health.

She said pregnant teenagers in certain Western countries receive overwhelming support and sympathy from classmates of both sexes while attending their normal classes. Their mere presence in class raises awareness over the consequences of premature pregnancy among teenage girls.

These girls should also be given vocational training on subjects that can land them short-term jobs so they can save money to raise their infants.

Waranuch praised a Phetchaburi school which in 2001 began to admit pregnant teenagers expelled from other schools. They do not wear uniforms and are taught in separate classes.

--The Nation 2005-08-27

Step in the right direction, if only a half-step.