By Ameen Khadijat Oluwatoyin, EXCLUSIVE
Poverty according to experts have been identified as a major problem facing all sectors and facets of human life. Children living under economic hardships are therefore faced with so many barriers especially the girl child.
Education stakeholders believe that Investing in girl child Education can largely help to reduce the recurrent trend of domestic violence, improve self care awareness, uplift family and societal values.
In achieving economic growth while also promoting peace, the girl child should be supported at all levels to remain in school.
Report by WASH has it that Globally, “millions of girls and women still lack adequate facilities for menstrual hygiene management (MHM)”. Inadequate water, sanitation, and hygiene facilities, particularly in public places such as schools, workplaces or health centers, which can pose a major obstacle to women and girls healthy lifestyle. The lack of separate toilets with doors that can be safely closed, or the unavailability of means to dispose used sanitary pads and water to wash hands, means that women and girls face challenges in maintaining their menstrual hygiene in a private, safe and dignified manner. This is a major reason for absenteeism in schools especially at secondary level.
To achieve a safe and secure future for generations to come, there is the need to make policies and invest in resources that will help eliminate the many menaces the girl child faces everyday.
Some of the Factors responsible for girls absenteeism in schools are but not limited to:
- FAMILY AND CULTURAL ORIENTATIONS: the orientation of families and society at large is partly responsible for the absentism of girls In schools. some cultures give the girl child out for early marriage, not minding the educational needs of the child. This practice have been largely responsible for the high number of out-of-school girls, especially in communities in parts of northern nigeria.
Most families of cultures also prefer the education of the boy child rather than place similar value on the education of the girl-child. common societal phrases like; “a woman’s education ends in the kitchen” or the believe that “the male child is the only one that carries on family legacies” drives this retrogressive beliefs.
Sadly, These kind of cultural orientations have been passed down through generations of African societies, hence becoming more difficult to change. It is largely responsible for the high number of out of school girls in African societies today. - ECONOMIC HARDSHIPS: for many families the harsh economic realities distorts the dreams and aspirations of parents for their children, a distortion that often times lead to the girl child having to sacrifice her education for the sake of her male siblings, as parents with this kind of difficult economic realities believe that the education of the boy child is of more importance than that of the girl child. This has caused early drop out from school for many African girls as they are being told to learn a trade or stay at home with their mothers while their male siblings are in the four walls of school classrooms, getting formal education.
- COST OF EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS: as true as the popular notion that “ignorance is more expensive than education” is , it is also no fallacy to say that education in itself is not a cheap venture. Apart from payment of school fees, the rate of many financial demands from parents by schools to cater for the education of their children sometimes frustrates these parents who in turn take it out on their children, more often than not, the girl child, as for some parents spoken to, the education of the girl child they believe isn’t much of a necessity, hence, why should they” suffer to send the girl to school when at the end of the day, she’s going to be married off to a well to do man who will be responsible for her throughout her life”. This makes them cringe at the slightest hint of too many financial implications of sending the girl child to school, hence they more often than not choose the path of taking such girls off school with the excuse of not having enough money to feed the family, let alone send her to school.
- MENSTRUAL HYGIENE: Menstrual Reality of girls is also a major factor as most rural communities schools do not have water for girls to practice proper menstrual hygiene. Also their parents cannot afford sanitary pads as the cost of these pads are of similar financial strains to providing basic food for the family.
- POOR ECONOMIC POLICIES: poor educational and economic policies also cause a major setback in the education of the girl child as policies that are mostly hard on parents are made. A close example is the issue of the fuel subsidy removal, a policy that hardens the survival of parents who are responsible for sending these girls to school. Another notable example is the incessant strike by the academic staff union of tertiary institutions. This industrial actions go a long way in delaying or even most times stagnating the educational dreams of mostly girls as their parents end up giving them out in marr rather than wait out the duration of these strike.
- INSECURITY: With different vices going on in the world of which Nigeria is not left out, Social and Religious extremists have used this as an excuse in causing chaos in some part of Nigeria especially in the North and some part of the East. As for the north, most clans and villagers have been forced out of their abode with the trend of kidnappings.
Zainab Muhammad an adolescent form 2(J S2) is a school dropout. She relocated to Kaduna from igawa Community in KATSINA state saying her family ran away from their community due to viol clashes.
She said “we were all stopped from going to school in my community due to the fighting anytime we go to school .”
“It is my entire class member that was stop from going to school For the past two year”
” I will love to go back to school but my parent cannot afford to anymore, ” she added.
Also speaking with Teetvnews in Kaduna, Zarau Sani said her village has just one school which has been destroyed by bandits hence teachers have all fled to safety
Zarau said, “In my community there is no teacher that is the reason in Katsina”
“Any teacher posted to our community would refused to resume work, because our school was demolish, and in the effort to rebuild another structure they refused to resume teaching, even though is not up to a year now that they stop coming to class “
“Is not just lack of the teacher but all in our village there is only one school, so lack of teacher in that very school makes me to stop going to school. I would want to go back to school so that I can acquire knowledge that the reason for wanting to go back to school, even do presently im in Hanyi Danmani in Igabi LGA of Kaduna with my uncle for over two weeks now he is the one who ask me to come ad work here
He did stop me from attending school he only makes me work to do miscellaneous house chores work since he cant afford the school so he brought me here to work ,” she confirmed.
A parent, Mrs Ruth Afolabi gives reasons why she would not allow a girl child to go to school.
She said,”There is reason for preference of a boy child going to school instead of the girl because most of the girl when sent to school go to a different places. secondly, most of the girls joined bad peer group, in which she would tell you she is going to school but end up in a different place, so sincerely you have rest of mind on a boy child compare to a girl child, while the other way round while parents become scare of a boy child Is because of when he is in school should not join bad gang like cultist but in the female some have good character but majority joined bad group.”
When asked if she has a child who doesn’t go to school, she said, “Yes there is, she is the only girl child I have, and she is the only one I didn’t allow to go to school. She is very stubborn, she go to primary and secondary school, so when she want to further I just deceived her to drop out, saying she should go and learn skill, by expressing that the skill is lucrative and I deceive her, because I’ve noticed are nature of movement, so to avoid waste of money and effort I deceive her to stop schooling.”
Mrs Afolabi said she’s not oblivious of the advantages of schooling but peer pressure is affecting her 19years old and if she sees changes in the character of her child, she would be allowed to go further in her educational pursuit.
She said, “Yes I would allow her back to school and if she also change her character. It’s not just financial hardship, but because of her bad character I stop her from schooling.
“there is something they call smoking of shisha with her bad companion, so I felt I wouldn’t want her to follow the bad peer, instead I decide to tie her down to avoid her from following bad friend. And I think it’s the best decision,” she concluded.
Just when I thought I was done with my interview session, Aina’u Umar walked up to me saying she likes my skin colour so I asked her if she speaks English, she said ha ha meaning NO, so I asked why she wasn’t in school then she started narrating her story; ” because i’m not from this town, the name of our town is Mau gagre from Katsina.
For now there is no reason my father sent me down here to come and be doing local jobs.”
When asked why her father sent her to do job of a maid, she burst into tears and could barely speak.
After a few minutes break to calm her down she said her parent can barely feed the family but she said, “Yes I would like to go back to school if I get help”.
Conclusion:
It is pertinent to note that, ignorant is a disease and to cure that, there is the need for grassroot sensitization and enlightenment for both parents and girl children themselves.
For the girl child to enjoy proper education, both families, communities and government institutions must take important steps towards reducing if not totally eradicating the many issues that surface and hinder the education of the girl child. There is also the need for cultural reorientation among families. This Is largely important, as parents are mostly directly responsible for the education of these girls. Finally, children are the leaders of tomorrow. To get credible and capable leaders, the education of our children is largely cardinal. And to get an inclusive leadership that doesn’t push the women to the background, the girl child must be made to stay in school.
This report is supported and sponsored by the Open Society Initiative for West Africa and Gender Strategy Advancement International