The national minister for Gender, Child and Social Welfare blamed parents and guardians for forcing girls into early marriage.
Agnes Kwaje Lasuba told the press on Wednesday that early married was a big challenge that the ministry was fighting.The minister warned that unless the attitude of parents and guardians changed and they sent their girls to school, women and girls would not participate effectively in nation development.
Ms Lasuba cited that the 2010 Household Survey revealed that 72 percent of girls aged between 15 and 24 could not read and write.
She described the data as alarming: it represented a big part of the labour force and human resources that should carry forward the development agenda.
The minister warned that if girls were not educated, women would not move forward and were not able to achieve the affirmative action of 25 percent.
Ms Lasuba called on mothers and guardians to take proper care of girls’ education.