A shocking new study has revealed that Junior School is now the epicentre of teenage pregnancy among school-going girls in Kenya, with 60% of all pregnant learners found at this level.

The findings are contained in The Gender Report 2026 by Usawa Agenda, the second national status report on gender equality in and through education. According to the report, teenage pregnancy continues to devastate girls’ education despite the existence of a national return-to-school policy.

The comprehensive 2025 survey, which assessed over 49,000 children across all 47 counties, shows that roughly one-third of pregnant learners are in Senior School. However, this figure is likely understated because the survey only covered girls up to age 17 and data collection took place during the school term, excluding many boarding school students.

Even more alarming is the age breakdown of the victims: 32.2% were 17 years old, while a shocking 14.1% were just 13 years old, many still in early adolescence.

The report also highlights sharp regional differences. Pregnancy rates among senior school learners are highest in Rift Valley at 5.1% and Nyanza at 4.4%, followed by Eastern (3.5%) and Western (3.4%). The lowest rate was recorded in North Eastern at just 0.4%.

Nationally, the return-to-school rate after childbirth stands at 58.1%, with the Central region performing best at 69.2% and North Eastern recording the lowest rate of only 18.5%. Variations also exist by school category, with Cluster 4 schools showing the highest pregnancy prevalence at 4.3%, followed by private schools (3.2%) and special schools (2.6%). The lowest rates were observed in Cluster 1 (0.4%) and Cluster 2 schools (0.8%). Return-to-school rates were highest in Cluster 2 schools at 62.8% and lowest in private and special schools.

These findings emphasizes an earlier warning in the same report that an out-of-school teenage girl is 12 times more likely to experience early pregnancy than her in-school counterpart.

Despite policy efforts, stigma, lack of parental support, and economic hardship continue to block many girls from resuming their education.

Usawa Agenda is calling for urgent and decisive government action to strengthen implementation of the return-to-school policy, expand counselling and support services, and tackle the root causes of teenage pregnancy with immediate and targeted focus on Junior School, where the crisis is hitting hardest.