The Impact of Teenage Pregnancy on Academic Performance of Grade 7 Learners at a School in the Zambezi Region

Abstract

The Namibia Demographic Survey in 2013 revealed that about one out of five teenagers aged 15 to 19 were either pregnant or had given birth. The United Nations report for the same year believes that about 127 girls get pregnant every day in Namibia. The aim of this article was to find out the impact of teenage pregnancy on academic performance of Grade 7 learners at a school in the Zambezi Region. A qualitative research method was used in this article and two teachers and 4 pregnant learners were interviewed. The findings for this study revealed the reasons why these teenagers get pregnant as follows: lack of parental care and control, lack of some material needs, poor peer guidance, lack of sex education, and the influence of alcohol and drug abuse. The impact of teenage pregnancy on academic performance included poor academic performance after the pregnancy, increase dropout because of pregnancy related issues and negative feeling on schooling.