Pregnant Student Defies Odds and Prepares for BECE

Bent on pursuing and attaining formal education,a-15-year-old pregnant girl at the Kwadwo-Addaekrom D/A Primary and Junior High School in the Asutifi North District of the newly created Ahafo Region has defied all odds as she prepares to write the impending Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE).

Patricia Bangia, a form three student said she has registered and is preparing seriously to write this BECE scheduled for June 10, though she experiences strange feelings in her body due to her eight-month pregnancy.

She told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in an interview at Kwadwo-Addaekrom, a cocoa growing community that her pregnancy is eight months and she is expected to deliver on June 18, but nothing can hinder her from writing the examination.

Miss Bangia said though the school environment is unfriendly to her, she drew inspiration from the First Lady Rebecca Akufo-Addo and decided to continue with her education. She was inspired when she watched the First Lady on the television.

She said it is her hope and aspiration to become a nurse in future, and she is determined to achieve that though the stigma attached to her is very high among her school mates and people in the community.

Miss Bangia says because of the stigma and unfriendly condition at the school, other two final year students who got pregnant, have left the school.

She acknowledged the encouragement from her parents and support from teachers, which motivate her to learn hard for the examination.

Source: Ghana News Agency