The Executive Director of Indigenous Women Empowerment Network (IWEN Ghana), Celestina Maame Esi Andoh, has called on traditional authorities, parents and community members in the country to ensure that teenage mothers who have dropped out of school due to pregnancy return to school after delivery.

She also called on the Ghana Education Service (GES) to strengthen its guidance and counselling unit to provide the appropriate services for pupils and students at the pre-tertiary level of education to enable them to focus on their education.

She urged parents and guardians to open up to their children and wards, especially the girls, on sex education to prevent them from getting into activities that will make them pregnant.

“Lack of sex education and poverty are some of the major factors that contribute to teenage pregnancy, while stigmatisation by peers and from the communities are also factors that hinder teenage mothers from returning to school to complete their education after delivery,” Ms Andoh stated.

The government's policy on re-entry for girls is to ensure that girls who drop out of school due to pregnancy are admitted again after giving birth.

She stated that the policy aims to implement measures that will help prevent the exclusion of young mothers from furthering their education.

"In the event of a girl being forced out of school due to pregnancy, a policy guideline has been provided to assist schools and other stakeholders, such as parents and guardians, to ensure that the girl is enabled to complete her education," she explained.

She said the efforts of stakeholders across the nation must be geared towards ensuring that girls' right to education is protected to enable them to remain in school.

According to Ms Andoh, when girls have access to quality education and are encouraged to remain in school, it will accelerate the country's attainment of Sustainable Development Goal Four (SDG 4), which aims to ensure inclusive and quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all by 2030.

She further encouraged the Ghana Education Service (GES) to step up its efforts to ensure that no child of school age in the district is left behind, including teenage mothers who have the opportunity of being readmitted to continue their education.