00:00When you're forced to drop out of school with no support to continue, it breaks your heart.
00:14Mikaela Balume's unplanned pregnancy meant she could no longer be a pupil at a Catholic school.
00:20The 18-year-old had to marry instead.
00:23Church leaders and the Congolese government have been clashing over whether pregnant girls should be allowed to continue their education in Catholic schools.
00:33The Congolese government is now moving to overturn the church's ban on pregnant school girls.
00:40Pregnancy shouldn't end a girl's education.
00:43It's heartbreaking when girls are chased out just for being pregnant.
00:47This new policy gives us a chance.
00:49Across the DRC, Catholic schools account for roughly one in four secondary schools.
00:56It is the church's policy to exclude girls who fall pregnant.
01:00The number of girls affected is high given the country's pregnancy rate of 24.5% of girls aged between 15 and 19.
01:08So the government stepped in with a landmark decree.
01:12No girl can be denied schooling because she is pregnant.
01:16Not everyone in the education system is embracing the government's intervention.
01:21Bahati Frederick finds it counterproductive.
01:25Personally, I don't think this measure is good at all.
01:29Because when girls who give birth return to school, others might follow, thinking pregnancy is no consequence.
01:36Our schools aren't ready.
01:42Pregnant students need suitable desks, dormitories, comforts that our schools lack.
01:48With the desks we have, a pregnant student can never feel comfortable.
01:51So we need desks that are adapted to her needs.
01:56These are just some of the complexities the DRC is grappling with
02:00as the culture of inclusion in education takes hold.
