Pregnant schoolgirls expelled in Gabon

Gabon is better off than most African countries

By Daniel Mboungou-Mayengue BBC correspondent in Libreville

The headmaster of Gabon's largest secondary school has ordered girls out of classes because they are pregnant.

Young people are not careful about what they do - we need to discipline them and to tell them that what is happening today is not good

Janvier Nguema Mboumba, headmaster

Teenage pregnancies are common in schools throughout the country but the girls involved have always been allowed to continue their education.

The action taken at Leon Mba High School in the capital, Libreville, has caused a stir among students, parents and educators.

One of the school's pupils said: "I don't think it's a good decision. These girls have a right to education too, like everyone else.

"Just because they're pregnant doesn't mean they're different from other girls."

Parents divided

A classmate, however, backed the headmaster: "I wouldn't allow young girls who go to school to get pregnant. They will have all the time in the world, but they should first complete their studies."

A third student said: "In a way, this decision is not entirely bad, because in other countries, pregnant girls aren't allowed to go to school. But normally here in Gabon, they're allowed to.

"Sometimes I think it's not the fault of the girls. Unwanted things happen when we don't need them in our lives.

"So, [the headmaster] should just try to understand these girls and not expel them from school," the student said.

The parents are equally divided.

"I think it's a good decision. It'll be very difficult for a girl who is pregnant to concentrate on studies. She has to finish with her situation, and after that she'll go back to school," one said.

"I don't think it's a good decision. In Gabon, it's contrary to the rules to make such a decision," according to another parent.

Frustration

Four pregnant girls have already been expelled from the Leon Mba school.

What frustrates them is that other pregnant girls from sister high schools in the country carry on with their studies.

Libreville is one of the world's most expensive cities

Brigitte Levengossa, an English teacher and deputy head of Libreville's second largest high school, Paul Egege Ngoundjoult, said her school had a different policy to that of Leon Mba.

"Here we don't do that. I talked to the headmaster a few days ago and he said it would unfair for us to put an end to a young girl's education because of pregnancy," Ms Levengossa said.

"I think that in order to stop teenage pregnancies, we need to tell young girls when pregnancy occurs. They shouldn't be punished."

No law in Gabon gives headmasters the right to expel pregnant girls from school.

'Supporting government'

However Janvier Nguema Mboumba, the headmaster of Leon Mba who expelled the four girls, is adamant he has done the right thing.

"Young people are not careful about what they do. We need to discipline them and to tell them that what is happening today is not good," he said.

"I have expelled those students from our school to support the government of my country. The truth of the matter is that we have committed ourselves to working with the National Programme for the Fight against Aids to put an end to pregnancies in our school."

No doubt, most sexually active girls at Leon Mba will now use condoms more with their partners.

But those who are reluctant to use them will probably be putting their lives at risk by seeking abortions if they become pregnant.

Many of them do not even know that a woman's reproductive system needs to be protected.