Your teenage high school son is sexually active: report

The majority of teenage schoolboys in Kenya have had a sexual experience with a girl, a new study by Maendeleo ya Wanaume (Mawe) reveals.

The Mawe, which conducted in five counties, study shows that eight out of 10 boys in secondary schools are sexually active.

“There is a need for sex education to be introduced in secondary schools to curb the vice and tame early sexual experiences among teenagers,” said Mawe chairman, Nderitu Njoka.

The study was conducted between July and August at the height of the Covid-19 lockdown, a period in which secondary school students have been grounded at home.

The period also witnessed a spike in teenage pregnancies.

The survey, which was conducted in Meru, Taita Taveta, Kiambu, Narok, and Migori counties, also revealed that seven out 10 schoolboys are not willing to repeat classes because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

There were fears that the 2020 academic calender would be lost over the closure of schools for over six months.

But the Ministry of Education and stakeholders have been deliberating on how to reopen schools most likely in October with several proposals mulled to save the academic year.

The Mawe report also revealed other disconcerting news after it emerged that 60 percent of schoolboys chew miraa, particularly in Meru where 3 out of 10 teenagers are likely to drop out of school to engage in the khat business.