The uncelebrated Mother's Day

Daycare at high school is unlikely and many girls are hesitant to stay in school once their pregnancies begin to show. The reality, according to a number of social workers, is that most girls will quit and never return to school.

"In theory, the policy says every girl is entitled to continue her education, but this is often not the case. In our experience, most schools will push the girls to leave because they are afraid that it might send a bad message to the other students," said Stella Tsao (曹宜蓁), a social worker at a Taipei shelter for unwed mothers.

Tsao recalled a conversation she had with a junior high school principal who said that if the girl in question was unable to deliver the baby, then she could come back to school. If the girl was successful and decided to keep the baby, then it would be best for her not to return, because the burden of child care and studying would be too much for a student to manage.

EDUCATING THE PUBLIC

Aware of the prejudice faced by pregnant students, the MOE is working to create a more accepting attitude toward these girls. There has already been a positive response from individual teachers interested in learning how to deal with pregnancy in the classroom.

"It's the most important thing right now. Many schools still create an unfriendly environment, making it impossible for a pregnant student to stay in school. Once we create an environment the girls feel comfortable in, then we will continue to work on more pragmatic ways to keep them in school," said Chen Chin-yen (陳金燕), administrative director of the Student Affairs and Council Committee of the MOE.

To assist young mothers, the MOE has responded with more flexibility, Chen said. Extended periods of leave, extra make-up tests in addition to correspondence courses that allow girls to study at home under the supervision of a tutor are some of of policies that were implemented this year.

While all schools are required to offer the services to their students, not all of them fulfill the requirement. Unless a girl reports her unfair dismissal or refusal for home study to the MOE, nothing will ever come of it.

While equal opportunities are being created in the classroom, society also needs to be re-educated on its views toward single mothers, Tsao said. Having an unwed, 16-year-old pregnant daughter is a major loss of face for families, she added, giving an example of a mother who agreed to let her 17-year-old daughter stay at home as long as she did not tell anyone she had a baby. Whenever anyone came to visit, the girl was asked to go to the park until the visitor left.

"A lot of people think single mothers are incapable of raising normal, well-behaved children, but these assumptions are not based on facts. The real fact is these girls need the support and help of their community. In many cases, girls sacrifice an education, social life and reputation to have a child. Now their families, friends and communities need to stop judging them and learn how to help," Tsao said.

The names in quotation marks are not the real names of the young mothers, who asked to not have their real names published.