STUDENTS PARENTS FACE SIGNIFICANT CHALLENGES AT MOI UNIVERSITY

 

STUDENT PARENTS AT MOI UNIVERSITY 

As the numbers of student parents at Moi university continues to rise, many of these students are struggling to balance their academics, raise children and perform other university activities.

This raises alarms and the need for more support services. Monica a second year student pursuing 

BA kiswahili gives us an insight of her parenting and student life

Students who are also parents in Moi university face alot of struggles in balancing these two faces of their daily lives on one hand classes, assignments and other academic tasks and on the other a child who needs a mother 

In most cases these students are single mothers not forgetting their young age and inexperience in being a mother, most of them do not exceed 24 years

"Sometimes I always regret keeping the baby but I had to be responsible for the mistake I made" Monica says. " The pressure that comes with parenting is so overwhelming parents pressure from home for you to achieve what brought you to school, financial constraints, money to pay for the child care, food, baby diapers and other materials is expensive and particularly me I never receive baby support from my parents they only budget for one person their daughter and that is me. Time management is another, you need to be in class by 8 in the morning so for you to achieve this you have to wake up very early to do some cleaning prepare the child and yourself." Monica narrates

Moi university as a school disadvantages these students due to lack of resources that supports them as affordable childcare services. So many students are forced to look for villagers in the community who stay around to take care of the children when they go for classes. This is risky because one they are strangers and if anything happens no one is to be accountable because even the school does not know about this.

" Being judged and isolated by my peers is one thing I have to live with most of them avoid me as plague and some don't even want me in their group discussions. This is quite painful but I have to bear because I chose this. Some lectures are worse they can't understand your situation no matter how hard you try to explain they even announce your situation to the whole class demoralizing you more"Monica adds.

Most of these students suffer from mental health like depression the burden of handling this becomes to much and they end up held in their own world not having someone to confide in or talk too on how they feel about this whole situation, stress where they will get money to sustain them. All this affects them mentally and even physically.

Sometimes missing classes due some unavoidable circumstances maybe the child is sick or due to too much stress the mother has fallen sick. This situation is a nightmare to them and they pray day in day out to wake up from this nightmare 

Advocacy groups and these student parents call upon the university to recognize there struggle and provide necessary support like childcare services, parenting initiative workshops to help them successfully navigate in both their academics and role as parents. But the big question is what causes this early pregnancies in campuses.

There are several factors that lead to this. One is lack of responsibility, many students fail to be responsible people and avoid unprotected sex. Moi university as a school offers condoms and other protective measures to help students evade all this but most students are usually blinded by the calling pleasure and forget about the possible outcomes, early pregnancies or even more. Most weight goes on the girl child when she conceives and left confused not sure on what to do, some choose to bear and some terminate forgetting the risks of doing abortions even worse death.

Parents or guardians also contribute to this more or less indirectly. When they fail to play their tole of supporting their children financially at school, they enable their children especially girls to practice this uncouth behaviors for money to sustain themselves while in campus. Girl are easily lured with money from men who later pay dearly for selling their dignity. Yes they are at fault but some have no choice, the greed for getting money faster blinds them completely 

Peer pressure comes in when talking about early pregnancies. When most girls join in campus they are usually innocent and clean minded buy as time goes by and interactions with different people the clean minds wears aways and they fall into this trap of having a 'mubaba' and multiple boyfriends, they engage in this activities without looking at the consequences and end up carrying babies of men they hardly know in some cases.

Cohabitating is one this that has become rampant in campuses not only moi university but majority students tend to marry each other at a very young age without the parents consent and when the girl or the 'wife' falls pregnant the boy breaks up with her, leaving her with a burden to handle alone.

We have very few circumstances of rape cases, this is where girls are forced to have sex and end up pregnant or with other complications

It is everyone's obligation to become responsible and put an end to early pregnancies in campuses. Students need to learn on being responsible citizens and abstain or avoid unprotected sex, Many student are from different backgrounds but contentment is very key what the parent is able to support with they should learn to manage and use that.

Moi university offers a work study program where students can work as they study and get something to make ends meet, also students should use their upkeep funds offered by the government and invest in small businesses to get a profitable income that can help in sustaining them instead of selling their dignity for money and end up as early mothers 

The most important thing students should abstain from sex or avoid unprotected sex at all cost to enable smooth learning like other students.