The Minister of Education (ME) signed an Agreement with the Secretariat of State for the Promotion of Equality (Portuguese acronym SEPI) and with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), on the 19th of July, in Díli, to investigate the incidence of pregnancy among teenagers that is being verified in the Ermera, Liquiça and Ainaro districts. During the Agreement signature, the Secretary of State for the Promotion of Equality, Idelta Maria Rodrigues, pointed out that, especially in these three districts, at high school level, female teenagers have the tendency to drop out of school more than male teenagers.
The purpose of this investigation is, on the one hand, identify the causes for this problem and, on the other hand, to help to establish the Ministry of Education’s policy to guarantee that female teenagers have equal access to school as male students. It is also intended to find ways to guarantee that pregnant teenagers also have access to the school and return to study after giving birth.
The Minister of Education thanked UNFPA’s finance support and underlined the importance of the effort that must be developed in order to find a solution for the problem of school abandonment. João Câncio Freitas reminded the Government’s purpose of implementing Compulsory Schooling, predicted in the Republic’s Constitution and in the Basic Law for Education.