Traditional Practices Hindering Teenage Mothers’ Willingness to Resume Classes and Retention, Tanzania

Abstract

Tanzania is among the countries in which girls' students had many challenges that made them drop out of school for many reasons and remain at home and become uneducated young mothers. This study explores how traditional practices pose challenges and drawbacks to girls acquiring secondary education. The study describes the effects of traditional practices on schoolgirls and their willingness to resume studies as a response to the new government policy to empower girls' students who drop out because of pregnancy and other reasons. It is a qualitative case study design in which the data was collected by interviewing 13 selected participants. The findings reveal that the Pogoro tribe believes that girls are not as essential as boys, resulting in boys' preference, forced marriage to girls, early pregnancies, and lack of support in education opportunities for girls. The study recommends that the government strengthen educational policies dealing with school girls as the policy of girls returning to school after birth still does not function. Also, education should be provided to the community on educating girls. However, individual and group counseling in elementary and middle school serves as early prevention for deterring early marriage for female adolescents in Ulanga.