Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel gave a statement at the 24th convocation ceremony of Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam Technical University (AKTU), Lucknow, which created a political and social stir.
The Governor said, ‘Girls become pregnant while studying. Some even have a child. The responsibility of that child goes to the government. You guys don’t do such a thing. Get married only after becoming self-reliant. ‘ But are its facts correct, are girls really getting pregnant while studying?
Are girls really getting pregnant while studying?
In the Governor’s statement, ‘girls getting pregnant’ has been presented as a common thing. But national figures tell a different story.
According to the National Family Health Survey-5 (NFHS-5, 2019-21), 6.8% of girls aged 15-19 years were either pregnant or had given birth to a child. That means 93 out of 100 girls are not pregnant at this age.
More importantly, the rate of teenage pregnancy is continuously decreasing. It was 16% in NFHS-3, reduced to 7.9% in NFHS-4 and further reduced to 6.8% in NFHS-5. This means that in the last 15 years this figure has decreased by more than half.
According to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) 2025 data, the teenage fertility rate in India is 14.1 per 1000. This means that out of 1,000 girls aged 15-19 years, 14 become pregnant. If compared with other countries, it is 6.6 in China, 7.3 in Sri Lanka and 8.3 in Thailand.
The Governor’s statement talks about ‘every girl’ or ‘most girls’, whereas the reality is that this is a case of 6-7% girls and this figure is continuously decreasing.
What is the condition of Uttar Pradesh?
Anandiben Patel is the Governor of Uttar Pradesh and she also gave the statement there, so let’s see the figures of UP.
According to the recently released NFHS-6 (2024-25), the rate of teenage pregnancy among girls aged 15-19 years in Uttar Pradesh is 3.5%. In NFHS-5 it was 4%. That means this rate in UP is much lower than the national average (6.8%) and it is also declining.
Interestingly, the NFHS-6 report also reports an increase in teenage pregnancy in UP (from 2.9% to 3.5%), but this is due to a change in the survey methodology or sample, as other data show a decline. This means that even in UP, teenage pregnancy is less than the national average and is decreasing.
Then why did the Governor say this?
The Governor used words like ‘burden on the government’ and ‘valour’ in his statement. He directly advised the girls by saying ‘don’t do such bravery’. The Governor spoke to the students in a very informal manner. Giving the example of her son, she said that she is not against love marriage, but is advising to get married only after becoming self-reliant. However, this statement is wrong on two fronts:
- Wrong facts: As shown above, teenage pregnancy is not common. This is the case for 6-7% girls and is continuously decreasing. The Governor presented it as a ‘normal incident’.
- In terms of sensitivity: Teenage pregnancy is often linked to child marriage, socio-economic backwardness, lack of education and sexual exploitation. NFHS-5 data shows that teenage pregnancy among girls with no education is 19.2%, while it is only 2.9% among more educated girls.
The Governor talked about the burden on the government, which is right to some extent. Government schemes like adolescent health programmes, sex education and increasing contraceptives play an important role in reducing this problem. Still, it is not the responsibility of the government alone. Family, society and education system also have a big role in this.
So is it the girls’ fault?
Experts say this is not the girls’ ‘fault’, but a result of socio-economic differences, lack of education and lack of access to resources. The Governor’s statement presents this complex issue as ‘negligence of girls’. At the same time, there is also a truth that the problem of teenage pregnancy has not completely ended.
In Mehsana district of Gujarat, 341 minor girls were found pregnant between April and December 2025, out of which 2 were only 14 years old.