A recent study indicates that junior schools have become the primary location of teenage pregnancies among female students in Kenya, accounting for 60% of all pregnant learners. These findings are part of the Gender Report 2026 published by Usawa Agenda, which is the second national assessment on gender equality in education. The report states that teenage pregnancy continues to adversely affect girls’ education despite the implementation of a national policy allowing them to return to school after childbirth.
The extensive 2025 survey, involving more than 49,000 children across all 47 counties, reveals that approximately one-third of pregnant students are enrolled in senior school. Nevertheless, this number may be underestimated as the survey only included girls aged 17 and below, and data collection occurred during the academic term, excluding numerous boarding school attendees.
Particularly concerning is the age distribution of those affected: 32.2% were 17 years old, while a disturbing 14.1% were only 13 years old, with many still in early adolescence.
The study also emphasizes significant regional disparities. Pregnancy rates among senior school students are most prevalent in Rift Valley at 5.1% and Nyanza at 4.4%, followed by Eastern (3.5%) and Western (3.4%) regions. North Eastern recorded the lowest rate at merely 0.4%.
On a national scale, the rate of returning to school after childbirth is 58.1%, with the Central region demonstrating the highest performance at 69.2%, while North Eastern shows the lowest rate at only 18.5%. Disparities are also evident across different school categories, with Cluster 4 schools exhibiting the highest pregnancy rate at 4.3%, followed by private schools (3.2%) and special schools (2.6%). The lowest rates were found in Cluster 1 schools (0.4%) and Cluster 2 schools (0.8%). Cluster 2 schools reported the highest return-to-school rate at 62.8%, whereas private and special schools had the lowest rates.
These findings reinforce a previous warning in the same report indicating that a teenage girl not attending school is 12 times more likely to experience early pregnancy than her counterpart who remains in school.
Despite existing policies, social stigma, insufficient parental support, and financial difficulties continue to prevent many girls from continuing their education.
Usawa Agenda is urging prompt and decisive government measures to enhance the implementation of the return-to-school policy, broaden counseling and support services, and address the fundamental causes of teenage pregnancy with immediate and focused attention on junior schools, where the issue is most severe.