Girl, 17, goes into labour in exam hall

A 17-YEAR-OLD expectant Junior Secondary School (JSS) student went into labour while taking her first paper in the just-ended Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) at Adwafo, near New Abirem in the Birim North District of the Eastern Region.

She was, therefore, taken to a nearby clinic where a midwife delivered her of a baby boy shortly on arrival.

But the strong-willed girl surprised both her colleagues and supervisors when she resurfaced the following morning at the examination hall to continue with the rest of her papers.

Mr Reynolds Y. Yeboah, District Examination Officer, told the Ghana News Agency that while taking her Religious and Moral Education paper, the teenager on two occasions sought permission to be escorted to the toilet.

However, when her situation became more serious, she was taken to a midwife who delivered her of the baby barely 30 minutes later.

Mr Yeboah said surprisingly, the young mother returned to the examination hall the following day to continue with the rest of her papers.

Commenting on the incident, the District Director of Education, Mr. J.A. Essel, said even though he would not encourage school girls to become pregnant, the girl showed a lot of courage and determination in defying her condition to go through her examination.

He charged parents to be responsible and ensure the proper upbringing of their wards to minimise the incidence of teenage pregnancy.

Mr Essel advised students to avoid pre-marital sex and concentrate on their studies to save themselves from unwanted pregnancy and minimise the risk of contracting HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases. — GNA.