ARUSHA, Tanzania, Sept. 4 (Xinhua) -- Tanzania will continue accommodating and enrolling teenage mothers into vocational training instead of admitting them into mainstream schools, a senior official said on Monday.
The move seeks to allow the teenage mothers to continue with their studies whilst coping with motherhood.
Hamisi Kigwangalla, Tanzania's Deputy Minister for Health, Community Development, Gender, Elderly, and Children said the government was not intending to totally lock teen mums out of education but rather find alternative measures that would allow them to continue with their studies.
"We don't intend to exclude teenage mothers in their quest for education, they will instead be accommodated through an alternative channel instead of the mainstream education system," he said, when speaking here on the sidelines of the fourth Psychological Support Forum organized by the Regional Psychological Support Initiative (REPSSI).
The deputy Minister assured teenage mothers that they would still continue their education through a different alternative.
"At the moment we are trying to accommodate teenage mothers but we must continue upholding ethics and standards," said Kigwangalla.
Noreen Huni, REPSSI Chief Executive Officer called on countries within the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to champion psychological support to children who were bearing the brunt of early marriage, extreme poverty, HIV/ Aids, sexual abuse, and war.
Huni reminded the 400 participants in the forum drawn from 32 countries that the much touted Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will only be realized if governments within the SADC bloc continuously embrace psychosocial support on children.
Themed Equity, Equality for all Girls, Boys and Youth, said the forum which coincided with REPSSI's 15 years of operation in the bloc was also attended by 76 children from 13 countries within the SADC region.
It also brought together social welfare officers, psychological experts to promote awareness and understanding of the importance of psychosocial support.
