Tanzania has announced plans to allow pregnant schoolgirls to resume their education after birth, according to a new directive.

Until now, secondary school dropouts were refused resumption of school after they went to give birth with government citing the negative moral impact of such girls on others.

Leonard Akwilapo, a senior official at the Ministry of Education, told Reuters by phone that the new directive is to give such girls an opportunity to continue their education.

“We are offering an alternative path to education to all children who missed their education for any reason, including those girls who got pregnant while in school, through our Folk Development Colleges (FDCs),” Leonard Akwilapo said.

Under the FDC colleges, dropouts who were hitherto locked out by the system will be allowed to attended 54 FDCs located across the country by January 2022, adding that the ultimate decision to return will rest of the student’s willingness.

He further confirmed that the move formed part of conditions attached to the implementation of a $500 million World Bank project on broadening acces to education launched last year.

World Bank statistics indicate that about 5,500 girls drop out of school annually in Tanzania due to pregnancy.

The expulsions even though a longstanding government policy had peaked during the first term of late president John Magufuli who at a time said government will also go after the men who impregnated these girls.

Rights campaigners repeatedly called for a reversal of the policy which was the case across a number of African countries until recently Zambia and Sierra Leone.