THE NIGERIAN GIRL CHILD’S ACCESS TO EDUCATION: A RIGHT OR PRIVILEGE

As we commemorate the UN’s International Day of the Girl Child, it is paramount to reminiscent on the rights and endemic challenges the girl child regularly encounters, with particular references to Nigeria. It is common knowledge that the typical Nigeria girl child and by extension the African girl child, suffers untold deprivations, abuses, victimization and diverse levels of vulnerability to certain human rights violations. To this extent, they require additional protections and supports from individuals, relevant private and public institutions and the society at large. Human rights are universal and thus cut across all ages and gender; including rights to quality education.

According to UNICEF, “All children, no matter where they live or what their circumstances, have the right to quality education.” UNICEF has been taking the arrow head position ensuring reintegration of children of school age back to school as well as promoting access to good quality education across Nigeria. Sadly, one in every five of the world’s out-of-school children is in Nigeria. Despite being officially free and compulsory, primary education is still not accessible to quite an alarming number of children in Nigeria, most of which are female. Nigeria records about 10.5 million of the children aged 5-14 years who are not in school, while 5.5 million have never been to any school. Relevant stakeholders must rise to this challenge and threat on girl child education in Nigeria, especially as the country’s population growth poses serious pressures on the available resources and infrastructures.   

UNICEF (2014) statistics on education has it that 60% of the out-of-school children are from the North Eastern Nigeria, just as 60% of the out-of-school children are girls. This calls for more concerted efforts and attention on the girl child’s education in Nigeria.

ADDRESSING THE ROOT CAUSE…

The disparity in access to adequate education between boys and girls in Nigeria is unacceptably wide, as the girls suffer a lot of bottle necks in their educational pursuits. The female adult literacy rate (ages of 15 and above) for Nigeria was 59.4%, compared to the male adult literacy rate of 74.4% for the same age range. Unequivocally, the culprit regarding this gap in literacy is the unequal access to quality education in Nigeria and Africa (World Bank Report, 2010). The gender gap in literacy rates in 2000 at the rural level between boys and girls was 18.3 percent in favour of the boys in general (CBN annual report, 2000). One of the fundamental steps that must be taken, especially in the North Eastern Nigeria, is abolishing possible laws that prohibit or hinders girl child education in the region. Strengthening existing laws that fight child abuse, child labour and child trafficking. Incentivizing girl child education in Nigeria will go a long way in closing the gaps. Generally, government must also make effort to sufficiently invest in education. The EFA Dakar Framework for Action (2000) recommended that 20% of national budgets, or 5% GDP, should be allocated to education. However, allocations by the Federal Government of Nigeria have not met this benchmark expectation. On the contrary, the Federal Ministry of Education had continued to record successive decline in shared budget, from 8.6% of the national budget in 2006 to 5.3% in 2010 and 3.1% in 2012 (ActionAid, 2012). This trend must be deliberately checked, because it is dangerous.

• Let’s join hands together and bridge the gap. Educating a girl child is akin to educating a nation.
• -       Let’s get our girl children back to school
• -       Girl child education is a RIGHT, not a PRIVILEGE!

#InternationalDayoftheGirlChild

#Educationisaright

#EducationisNotaPriviledge

© Godday O. Aghedo, 2019