Management of Pregnant Students : No Learner Should Be Discriminated Against!

The Minister of Secondary Education, Pauline Nalova Lyonga says whether people like it or not, they must respect and apply the circular letter No/02/22/C/MINESES/CAB of April 22, 2022 addressed to regional delegates, divisional delegates, education secretaries and principals in the secondary education sector, on the procedures for handling cases of student pregnancy in government and private secondary schools in Cameroon. 
During an information meeting on May 17, 2022 at the Centre for Distance Learning in Yaounde, Professor Pauline Nalova Lyonga underlined that the circular letter does not call for any debate. In the presence of students, parents, teachers and partners of the education sector, the Minister said it is all about fighting against the injustice female students already face within the school premises and the society at large. Nalova Lyonga said the girl child is already a victim of early marriages, victims of sexual violence among other things. According to the Minister of Secondary Education, preventing them from attending school while pregnant will only add to the many problems they already face hence leading to high illiteracy rate among girls. Professor Nalova Lyonga stressed that nobody has to stay behind. “We are in a modern society and we need to apply what happens internationally and move along in ensuring that the right of every child is respected as far as education is concerned,” the Minister of Secondary Education noted. She added that the girl child should have the sky as her limit and that the circular letter is not an opportunity for girls to be promiscuous, but it is a means for them to achieve their dreams.
A representative from UNESCO, Hilaire Mpoutou, said education is a fundamental right to everybody even to children who are pregnant. Without encouraging the phe...