Claim: One of the brightest students in Somita Basic Cycle School was allegedly impregnated by her teacher
Verdict: TRUE
A publication done by What’s on Gambia on its Facebook page Wednesday stories alleged that a teacher in Somita Basic Cycle School has impregnated a student in Foni, Bintang district, West Coast Region. . In a post “Teacher gets one of Foni’s brightest students pregnant”.
The post which caused a lot of uproar among cross-section of the population questioning the safety and protection of students, particularly younger ones below the ages of eighteen (18).
Following our investigations into the matter, it has been determined that the claim posted by What’s on Gambia is true. The student who is involved is a 16-year-old grade nine student named (name withheld) from the surrounding village of Kandonku. The teacher who is allegedly implicated as the perpetrator of the incident, is one Mr. Bah (first name withheld); however, we have been unable to reach the teacher himself to address the allegations directed to him, but it all turn futile.
When contacted to establish the veracity of the claim, the victim’s father authoritatively confirmed that his daughter has indeed been impregnated, as earlier reported by What’s on Gambia. The father further went on to disclosed that, the family had intended to report the case and take legal action against the school and the perpetrator. However, the school principal has been attempting to resolve the matter at the family level. The victim herself, equally confirmed being pregnant by one of her teachers at the school, which corroborated with claims by What’s on Gambia.
Conclusion:
Following a careful take and thorough findings into the issue, we have come to the conclusion that, the purported story and claim posted by What’s on Gambia, stating that a teacher at Somita Basic Cycle School has allegedly impregnated a student, are accurate and true. Additionally, we discovered that the school principal is working to dissuade the father and family from taking any necessary actions against the perpetrator which might cause the huge amount of money and a waste of time. According to the victim’s father, the implicated teacher sought the family’s forgiveness and took responsibility for the pregnancy.
The action by the teacher has severe implications in the girl’smental growth, thus affecting her education and exposed her to societal discrimination. We therefore urged the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education, Ministry of Women, Children and Gender and other children’s organizations to take stiffer actions to protect children from such circumstances and bring perpetrators to book.
