Teen Pregnancy as a Cause of School Dropout

This blog is written by María Eugenia Miquilena and Edgar Lara.

According to the report titled Accelerating progress toward the reduction of adolescent pregnancy in Latin America and the Caribbean prepared by UNFPA, UNICEF and PAHO/WHO, the region exhibits the second highest teen pregnancy rate, as about 15 percent of all pregnancies are to women under the age of 20. Central and South America show the highest rates, especially Guatemala, Nicaragua, Panama, Bolivia and Venezuela. Pregnancy is also more common among indigenous and rural teens, less-educated women, and those living in poor households.

Teen pregnancy and parenthood are considered outside factors for school disengagement among secondary school students in Latin America, according to a CAF study. Teen pregnancy and early motherhood represent a cost of opportunity for women, given the lack of adequate conditions, poor understanding and inadequate approach to the problem, resulting in the interruption of formal education or definite dropout by adolescent girls. In fact, as much as 36 percent of school dropout cases in the region can be attributed to teen pregnancy or motherhood.

In other words, teen pregnancy compromises young girls’ development opportunities, as dropping out of school hinders their formal education, resulting in employment and productive disadvantages, while making them vulnerable to poverty, violence, crime and social exclusion.

Aware that the prevention, treatment and monitoring of teen pregnancy requires a multidisciplinary approach, CAF launched the Education Agenda, which is aimed at closing access gaps, as well as improving the quality and relevance of education. The plan has the goal of integrating the gender perspective—especially women’s empowerment and autonomy from an early age—into actions that contribute to improving the quality of the region’s human capital. This implies that teenage pregnancy as a dropout factor cannot be addressed without the proper financial, technical resources and knowledge offered for the development and improvement of education systems in the region.

To this end, CAF has developed the study Policies to promote the completion of secondary education in Latin America and the Caribbean, in which teenage pregnancy incidents are analyzed based on their relationship with the school system, with pregnancy and adolescent parenthood being raised as one of the factors for dropping out. The study also addresses the issue of sex health education, family planning centers and childcare as part of potential solutions to the problem. On the other hand, it emphasizes the importance of incorporating gender perspective issues into the design of initiatives to reduce school disengagement, promoting a series of actions focused on the motivations that lead girls, boys and teens to quit school, taking into account gender identity and social context.

In order to help national and subnational governments in the region close gender gaps and promote equitable and quality inclusion of girls, children and young people in their school systems, CAF supports the Program to Improve Access and Educational Quality (PROMACE) implemented by the Ministry of Education of the Argentine province of Jujuy, addressing the main restrictions on access, quality and educational relevance, through: (i) implementing specialized care strategies for a vulnerable population, such as early childhood care in families of teen parents; and (ii) addressing the problem of adolescent dropout rates, along with the care of children and adults.

Thanks to PROMACE, the Ministry of Education of the Province of Jujuy will expand the coverage of day care centers in as many as 15 schools located in areas with high teen pregnancy rates, with the goal of promoting attendance, continuity of the educational trajectories of teenage parents and the successful completion of secondary school. Additionally, in coordination with UNICEF, the program will promote preventive actions for adolescent pregnancy in accordance with the provisions of Act 26.150 on Comprehensive Sex Education and forward-looking actions, such as counseling for teenage parents in the rearing of children and the prevention of future pregnancies, in order to ensure stimulation and care for the comprehensive development of children and the timely completion of their education.

In complying with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, CAF advocates for investment in actions to ensure that teen parents stay in school, to guarantee education for a segment with high levels of social vulnerability and to develop strategies that help prevent adolescent pregnancy and parenthood, lest young people’s skills for life and work will be compromised.