Re-entry Policy changing lives beyond girls — Joseph’s example

Picture for illustration purposes only. The actual individuals were not photographed in accordance with their parents’ wishes.

In the quiet town of Katete, a medium-sized town nestled at the foot of rocky hills in Eastern Province, Agnes (not her real name) is grasping a second chance at life. At just 16, she dropped out of school after becoming pregnant while in Grade Nine.

“I was writing my Grade Nine exams when I became pregnant. After writing , I passed, but my parents had nothing to do with me,” she recalls.

For months, her dream of becoming a police officer after completing her secondary education seemed shattered. But today, Agnes is back in Grade 11, thanks to Zambia’s school re-entry policy.

Introduced in Zambia in 1997, the policy aims to address high rates of school dropout among young mothers by giving them the opportunity to complete their schooling and achieve their full educational potential.

Agness, a policy beneficiary, is advising her peers to prioritize education over early marriage.

Agnes’s story is not unique.

Picture for illustration purposes only. The actual individuals were not photographed in accordance with their parents’ wishes.

Maureen, a young girl from Katete, was married off at a tender age after falling pregnant, leaving her life in turmoil as she struggled to cope with adult responsibilities.

Determined to pursue her dream of becoming a nurse, Maureen has returned to school and is performing well.

Like Agnes, she is benefiting from Zambia’s school re-entry policy, which gives young mothers the chance to continue their education and reclaim their futures.

The “re-entry policy” allows girls who become pregnant to return to school after giving birth, thereby preventing their permanent exclusion from education and promoting gender equality in education.

But nearly three decades later, the policy's promise remains only partially realized.

Joseph Mumba

Although Zambia’s school re-entry policy mainly targets girls, one young man in Lusaka’s Chawama compound is proving it’s never too late to turn your life around.

Joseph Mumba was once suspended from Chawama Secondary School for misbehaving and bullying classmates. He recalls feeling intimidated by intelligent peers, especially girls, which fueled his behavior.

In 2023, his actions caught up with him, and he was suspended just before his final exams. Heartbroken, Joseph watched his classmates complete school while he stayed home.

Determined to change, he returned to his former school, convinced his teacher he had reformed, and was readmitted. Today, Joseph is preparing to sit for his Grade 12 exams and has vowed never to return to his old ways.

He hopes his story will inspire other young people to stay focused on their education.

According to the Forum for African Women Educationalists of Zambia (FAWEZA), more than 20,000 girls drop out of school annually due to early pregnancies, yet only about half manage to return under the re-entry system.

“Where is the other half?” asks FAWEZA Executive Director, Costern Kanchele. “These are thousands of girls whose futures are at risk.” He notes that in mission schools especially, young mothers are often turned away in the name of discipline or morality. “They need our support, not rejection,” he insists.

Government statistics highlight the urgency. As of 2020, Zambia ranked 12th in Africa for adolescent pregnancy, with 115 births per 1,000 girls.

Nearly 30 percent of Zambian adolescent girls become pregnant before 18, with Eastern and Southern Provinces hardest hit.

The Ministry of Education acknowledges the low number of girls returning to school and has urged parents to take advantage of both the re-entry and free education policies.

Education Minister Douglas Syakalima insists that reforms including the construction of over 3,000 new classrooms since 2022 will create space for all learners.

But despite this political will, stigma, lack of awareness, and poverty remain powerful barriers.

Experts warn that the cost of inaction is steep. Globally, an estimated 13 percent of adolescent girls give birth before 18, a trend that often derails their education and exposes them to poverty, violence, and lifelong social exclusion.

In Zambia, this reality is all too visible in rural communities where early marriage, cultural pressures, and economic hardship converge to rob girls of their education.

“Adolescent pregnancy not only undermines girls’ human rights but also compromises their potential,” says Zambian National Education Coalition, Executive Director George Hamusunga.

“If we fail to address this, we are locking them [girls] and the nation into cycles of poverty,” he notes.

Mr. Hamusunga has appealed to the Government to urgently scale up the implementation of the Re-entry Policy.

He says the future can only be equal and bright for girls when they are given the opportunity to do so through prioritization of their education.

Mr. Hamusunga has urged the government to work towards combating teenage pregnancies and early marriages to help in guaranteeing girls who fell pregnant their right to education and ensure they are accorded the opportunity for an equal future.

Agnes and Maureen’s voices echo a broader struggle. While policies exist on paper, the lived reality of teenage mothers reveals a system still faltering.

For many, the classroom door is not yet fully open. The future of thousands of Zambian girls depends not only on laws and infrastructure but also on dismantling stigma, ensuring community support, and making second chances a reality.

Until then, the re-entry policy remains both a beacon of hope and a reminder of the unfinished fight for girls’ education.

Ends…………………