More girls attending school

More Zambian girls are attending school after government interventions such as allowing teenage mothers back to school and waiving fees and uniforms. Re-admission in many schools has doubled since the Ministry of Education introduced the re-entry policy prohibiting the expulsion of pregnant girls in 1997, according to official statistics. The policy requires girls to go back to school not later than a year after giving birth, while other interventions have also increased the enrolment rate. The policy has boosted the country's plans to reduce gender disparity in accessing education. "This has benefited the girl-child and the rural school-going pupils in a lot of ways, because they are being given a second chance to improve their lives, and also the nation as a whole," said Lillian Kapulu, permanent secretary of the education department. (Rts)