Final Assignment: The Challenges of Girl-Child Education, A Case Study of Yobe

State, North-East Nigeria

Name of the assignment

Solicited by KALU Institute - Humanitarian Aid Studies Centre
Date December 11, 2020

Author Edward Ishaku

Supervisor Karin Michotte

 Title 2/35

CONTENTS
FINAL ASSIGNMENT TEMPLATE 3
1 LICENSE AND DECLARATIONS 3
1.1 LICENSE 3
1.2 DECLARATION BY AUTHOR 3
1.3 CONTRIBUTIONS BY OTHERS 3
1.4 STATEMENT OF PARTS OF THE THESIS SUBMITTED TO QUALIFY FOR THE AWARD OF ANOTHER
DEGREE 3
1.5 OWN PUBLICATIONS INCLUDED IN THIS THESIS 3
1.6 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 4
1.7 DEDICATION 4
2 ABOUT THIS DOCUMENT 4
2.1 CATEGORIES 4
2.2 AUTHOR 4
2.3 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 5
3 INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY 6
3.1 INTRODUCTION 6
3.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM 7
3.3 RESEARCH GOAL & RESEARCH QUESTIONS 8
3.4 SIGNIFICANCEOF THE STUDY 8
3.5 SCOPE AND LIMITATION OF THE STUDY 9
3.6 DESCRIPTION OF THE STUDY AREA 9
3.7 DEFINITION OF TERMS 9
4 LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK 10
4.1 INTRODUCTION 10
4.2 GIRL-CHILD 10
4.3 THE DEVELOMENT OF GIRL-CHILD 10
4.4 STATUS OF GIRL-CHILD EDUCATION IN NIGERIA 11
4.5 PROGRAMMES ADOPTED TO IMPROVED GIRL-CHILD EDUCATION IN NIGERIA 11
4.6 RELEVANCE OF GIRL-CHILD EDUCATION 13
4.7 CHALLENGES OF GIRL-CHILD EDUCATION 14
5 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 17
5.1 RESEARCH DESIGN 17
5.2 POPULATION AND SAMPLE SIZE 17
5.3 SAMPLE TECHNIQUE 19
5.4 SOURCE OF DATA 19
5.5 DATA COLLECTION METHODS 19
6 DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS 20
6.1 INTRODUCTION 20
6.2 PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF SECONDARY DATA 20
6.3 PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF PRIMARY DATA 22
6.4 DATA ANALYSIS 28
6.5 DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS 29
7 SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION 30
7.1 INTRODUCTION 30
7.2 SUMMARY 30
7.3 CONCLUSION 30
7.4 RECOMMENDATION 31
REFERENCE 32
APPENDIX 33
 Title 3/35

License and Declarations

1.1 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0
International License.
This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon your work even for
commercial purposes, as long as they credit you and license their new
creations under the identical terms. This license is often compared to “copyleft” free and
open source software licenses. All new works based on yours will carry the same license,
so any derivatives will also allow commercial use. This is the license used by Wikipedia,
and is recommended for materials that would benefit from incorporating content from
Wikipedia and similarly licensed projects.

This is a Free Culture License!

1.2 Declaration by author

This research study is composed of my original work, and contains no material previously
published or written by another person except where due reference has been made in the
text.
I have clearly stated the contribution by others to my document, including statistical
assistance, survey design, data analysis, significant technical procedures, and any other
original research work used or reported.
The content of my work is the result of effort I have carried out and does not include a
substantial part of work that has been submitted to qualify for the award of any other
degree or diploma in any students centre, neither has been developed for my daily work. I
have clearly stated which parts of my work, if any, have been submitted to qualify for
another award.
I acknowledge that I have worked under a Creative Commons License and an electronic
copy of my work can be uploaded on the Institute's webpage.

1.3 Contributions by others

Nil

1.4 Statement of parts of the thesis submitted to qualify for the award
of another degree
Nil

1.5 Own publications included in this thesis

Yes
 Title 4/35

1.6 Acknowledgements
I am forever thankful and grateful to God almighty for his grace, love, mercy, wisdom,
understanding and knowledge throughout this study. I want to express my sincere
appreciation to my supervisor Karin Michotte. Thank you for your contributions, advices
especially when I sent out my proposed final assignment topic.
My sincere appreciation goes to the State Universal Education Board (SUBEB) for
providing me with secondary data. Thank you so much for you time and contributions
towards the success of this research work. I also want to thank the local education
authority of Damaturu and Bade Local Governments for their time and contributions. Lastly
my appreciation goes to my family and friends for their love, advices, and contributions
towards the success of this research work. God bless you and reward you all.

1.7 Dedication
This research is dedicated to my Beloved Wife Roseline Samuel for her support towards
my educational Pursuits

2 About this document

2.1 Categories
Countries Document Type Subject Institutions Language
Nigeria Case study Education Humanitarian Kalu English

2.2 Author

Edward Ishaku (25th January 1975) a Humanitarian worker and a staff of

Family Health International (FHI360) who is committed to the service of
Humanity in the Northeast Nigeria. I have spent all my years of service in
the private sector developing the capacity of out-of-school youths (both
boys and girls), building their capacity to be self-sufficient through skill
acquisition training and behavioural change communication.
In the last seven (7) years, I have the lead different projects that provide
access to education for internally displaced children in the Northeast Nigeria and ensuring
that they all could continue with their studies. This interest that I have developed over the
years informed my choice of topic for this final assignment titled “The challenges of girl-
child education” for the research work.
 Title 5/35

2.3 Executive Summary

This study focused on the challenges of girl-child education in Damaturu and Bade in Yobe
State. The main objectives of the study are; identify the challenges of girl-child education,
factors responsible for low enrolment of girl child education, to explain the importance of
female education to community development and to make recommendation on how these
challenges can be addressed. Hypotheses on the challenges of girl-child education were
formulated to provide direction for this research work. The study shows that there is
significant relationship between cultural beliefs of a society and the advancement of girl-
child education and the ability of government to contribute substantially to girl-child
education is significantly dependent on their programmes and policies.
This was revealed through the simple random technique and the purposive sampling
technique which were adopted for the administration of questionnaires. It was found that
despite the availability of schools and frequent enrolment of students in the study areas,
the rate of completion is still low compare to their male counterparts. Factors that
contributed to these challenges are poverty, negative attitudes of parents towards
education, street hawking, early marriage, among other factors. Even though government
of Yobe State have tried to encourage girl-child education, the people fills that more needs
to be done by improving infrastructural deficiency and creating awareness that will
encourage the people to prioritize the education of girl-child. It was also recommended that
government should create poverty alleviation program at the grass root, girl-child needs to
be provided with a safe and supportive educational environment that is free from abuse,
early marriage should be abolished until the girl-child has attained a certain level of
education and government should make concerted effort to engage with development
partners in ensuring community-based sensitization and human capacity development of
teachers that will translate into increase enrolment of girl-child.
 Title 6/35

3 Introduction and Background of the study

3.1 Introduction
The term ‘girl-child refers to a female between the ages of 6-18 years (Mukhatar (2011).
The National Child Welfare Policy (1989) as cited by Ada (2001) defines the girl-child as a
female below 14 years of age. Offorma (2009) defines it as a biological female offspring
from birth to eighteen (18) years of age. During this period, the young girl is totally under
the care of the adult who may be parents, guidance, or elder siblings. It is also a period
when the girl-child is malleable, builds and develops her personality and character. She is
very depended on others on who she models her behaviour, through observation,
repetition, and imitation. Her physical, mental, social, spiritual, and emotional development
start and progress to get to the peak young adult stage Sutherland, (2001). Again, the
gender apartheid places the girl-child in a disadvantaged position, where her potential is
suppressed, and self-actualization is not achieved. She, therefore, becomes a victim of a
pre-existing social-cultural male chauvinism. Furthermore, on the account of gender, girl-
child are subjected to all multiple forms of operations exploitation and discrimination.
For any society to developed and is not lopsided, the girl-child should be given quality
education. Girls’ education is a strategic development priority. Better educated women
tend to be more informed about nutrition and healthcare, have fewer children, marry at a
later age, and their children are usually healthier, should they choose to become mothers.
They are more likely to participate in the formal labor market and earn higher incomes. All
these factors combined can help lift households, communities, and countries out of
poverty. According to UNESCO estimates, around the world, 132 million girls are out of
school, including 34.3 million of primary school age, 30 million of lower-secondary school
age, and 67.4 million of upper-secondary school age. In countries affected by conflict (for
instance Northeast Nigeria), girls are more than twice as likely to be out of school than
girls living in non-affected countries. And in many countries, among girls who do enter
primary school, only a small portion will reach and far fewer will complete secondary
school.
Girl-child education has then become a major issue of concern in most developing
countries of the world today, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, where many young girls do
not attend school. According to UNICEF (2007), as cited by Grace (2010), the global figure
for out-of-school children is estimated to be 121 million, out of which 65 million
(approximately 53.8%) were girls and over 80 percent of these girls live in sub-Saharan
Africa. Primary school completion rates in Africa have been the lowest in the world and this
remains a concern as half of the world’s out-of-school children (OOSC) are concentrated
in 15 countries, eight of which are in sub-Saharan Africa (Ibrahim, 2012). In sub-Saharan
Africa, the number of girls out of school each year has risen from 20 million in 1990 to
24million in 2002 (Offorma, 2009).

According to Nigerian President Muhammed Buhari as quoted on January 16, 2020

Nigeria has 13.2 million out-of-school children. The girl-child accounts for 60% of this
figure. In the Northern part of Nigeria, which comprises three geo-political zones: The
North East, North Central and North West. The north Central shows an improvement over
others, these zones cannot boast of appreciable number of girls’ enrolment at primary and
secondary schools’ level, not to talk of tertiary level of education, as compared to boys’
enrolment. This indicates the level of backwardness of women compared to the men in the
region.

For instance, in Yobe state, socio-cultural factors are significant in parental and family
decision on whether to invest in girl-child education. Pervasive gender ideologies at the
 Title 7/35

household and community levels always favor boys over girls and promote differential
educational opportunities and outcomes. Socio-cultural believes and custom influence
decision to enroll girls in schools, decision to withdraw them from schools and decision to
drop out of school and indeed, their academic performance as well as grade level
attainment. Also, the sociocultural expectation of girls and the priority accorded to their
future roles as mothers and wives have a strong negative bearing on their formal
education. The girl-child is discriminated by virtue of her sex, the structure of the society,
its values, traditions, and institutions all have an in-built discrimination against women. The
assigning of different expectations to male or female has made the traditional society in
the past years to believe that it is not natural for a female child to be educated. As such,
the illiterate parents prefer to have their female children doing some domestic works at
home. Traditional beliefs to some extent hamper the girl-child education. It ranges from the
fact that girls do not carry on the family name like boys. If at all they send their children, it
is limited to the male children who according to such parents would occupy their place in
the case of death. As such, every available means is used to train the boys at the
detriment of girls because of their important role in protecting the “family name

In the same regard, owing to the economic stagnation of Yobe state, it is common to find
school age girls engaged in street hawking rather than attending school. Poverty and the
impoverished condition of the citizenry serve as a barrier to girl-child education. Most
mothers preferred street hawking and early marriage than sending their wards to school. In
the same vein, family background of the girl determines her chance of attending school.
The more educated a parent, the more favorable his/her attitudes to education. Further to
this, in most polygamous homes, boys are usually given considerations whenever there
are scarce resources for the training of the children. Sometimes, an intelligent girl is
deprived of opportunity to go to school while allowing a less intelligent or less ambitious
boy to go to school. Also, the input of the girl-child in the family income is so high that it
becomes economically unwise to allow such a child to pursue western type of education.
Such income could, therefore, be generated through hawking food items. The situation led
girls between the ages of thirteen to fifteen are falling headlong into marriage and
thereafter begin to face the challenges of childbirth. One, they are denied the opportunity
of formal education as they could not have any solid economic base or resources. With
little or no education. This does not only affect the young women or rather the girl-children
but also their offspring who due to the collapse of social and religious welfare services, are
dumped with their unsecured mothers.

3.2 Statement of the Problem

The girl child and by extension women have been turn out to be bearers of children, and
toilers of arduous labour from sunrise to sun set. They can only be seen but not be heard
in both the private and the public spaces of decision making. The girl child by the natural
status ascribe to her by male define norms of societal conduct and behaviour remains a
property to be owned and commoditized. No community will remain undeveloped if it has
the required human capital and the best instrument for developing any society is to invest
in human capital Richardson, (2009). This is because the acquired knowledge and skill will
guarantee the economic and social liberation of the individual and by implication enhances
their contribution to community and national development Efe, (2001)
Education is meant for all; in fact, it is the fundamental human right of every child whether
boy or girl, able or disable to acquire the basic education. There should therefore be no
discrimination as to who goes to school and who does not, hence education recognizes
and helps to unlock the potential in every child. Low enrolment of the girl child in school is
 Title 8/35

widening the educational and economic gap between the men and the women folks in
Northern Nigeria and Yobe in particular.
Therefore, the issues of gender equality in education have been the subject and off course
the prominent topic of debate for decades now. In Nigeria for example, there are large
disparity between the education that the girl child received and that of their counterpart
boys. Many girls do not have access to adequate education to a certain age. The literacy
rate, adult female (ages 15 and above) in Nigeria was at 52.66% in 2018, according to the
World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized
sources. (World Bank, 2018). In Yobe state, the net attendance rate is 47.7% meaning that
more than half of the girls are not in school. The education deprivation in northern Nigeria
is driven by various factors, including economic barriers and social-cultural norms and
practices that discourage attendance in formal education, especially for girls. Effort to
boost female education have been made by governments, organizations and INGOs
(especially FHI360), however, there still disparity in education.
The research is intended to identify and address the challenges bedevilling girl child
education or the factor responsible for low enrolment in schools in Yobe State. It also
necessary to unravel the challenges of girl child education in view of not only the
ignorance of rural dwellers on the importance of education, but also the dehumanizing
practice of keeping the girl child out of school, why parents often keep the girl child at
home to look after the younger ones and engaged in house chores with perception of
grooming them for future husbands.

3.3 Research goal & Research questions

The goal of this research paper is to identify the challenges of girl-child education, factors
responsible for low enrolment of girl-child education and to explain the importance of
female education to community development. It will also be aimed at educating parents on
the value addition of girl-child education especially in the context of protracted activities of
insurgence in the Northeast Nigeria.

3.4 Significance of the Study

The best instrument for developing any society is to invest in human capital. Therefore, the
girl-child education as an asset of advancement in any society is equally important and
should be pursuit. The negligence in terms providing adequate opportunities to girl-child
education will eventually amount to huge loss of human resources and development.
These girls will eventually grow to adulthood and be required to be accommodated in all
forms of opportunity as their male counterpart. Education being the fundamental human
right, it is also a key to the transformation of human life in which any responsible and
responsive society should encourage. Whenever girls could not access education, they
are denied the opportunity to discover the potential in them and hence their productive
roles will not be manifested.
In the past, significant effort has been made to improve girl-child education in the north
east – Yobe state, much still needs to be done if women must realize their potentials and
fully contribute to the political, socio-economic, and technological transformation of the
country. The findings of this study – “The challenges of girl-child education” shall be of
help to policy makers, State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Local Education
Authority (LEA) and the public on how to handle challenges that hinders the education of
the girl-child and advance their education in Damaturu and Bade by extension Yobe state
and Nigeria as a whole. It is my desire that the study will add to existing body of
knowledge on the challenges of girl-child education with specific reference to Damaturu
and Bade local government and by extension Yobe state. It is also hoped that Family
 Title 9/35

Health International (FHI360) the organization I am working for will find the work most
useful in planning their educational interventions so that the rural population in Yobe state
is put on the pedestal of equal and adequate educational opportunities.

3.5 Scope and Limitation of the Study

The scope of this study will specifically be focusing on the challenges of girl-child
education and the enrolment rate. Hence the study will restrict its coverage to Damaturu
and Bade local government areas of Yobe State.

3.6 Description of the Study Area

Yobe is a state located in northeast Nigeria carved out of Borno state. A mainly agricultural
state, it was created on August 27, 1991 and its capital is Damaturu. The town lies in a
plain region is covered by savanna and has an area of 46,609 Km2
3.7 Definition of Terms
To clearly understand this research work, I took my time to define certain key terms base
on the way they were used in the context of the study.

i. Education: This is the process of acquiring knowledge, skills, values, and attitude.
ii. Girl Child: A female from birth to young womanhood below the age of full physical
development or below age of maturity
iii. Challenges: A difficult task, especially one that the person making the attempt finds
more enjoyable because of the difficulty. Or a bid to overcome something.
 Title 10/35

4 LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

4.1 Introduction
This chapter reviewed what some authors, scholars and or authorities said or wrote in
respect to this research topic. Therefore, the purpose is to identify areas of weakness and
strength in the previous works from which some useful lessons can be learnt in the
literatures related to this topic and are classified in the following manner.
• The girl-child
• The development of girl-child education
• Status of girl-child education in Nigeria
• Programmes adopted to improved Girls education in Nigeria
• Relevance of Girl-child education
• Challenges of girl-child education

4.2 Girl-Child
According to Mamman, (1995) a girl is a biological female offspring from birth to eighteen
(18) years age, this is the age that precedes young woman or adult. While a child
according to United Nations Committee on the right of a child as quoted by Garuba, (2000)
is anyone who is below age of 18 years of age any human being regardless of sex, that is
below the age of 18 years is refers as a child. In analyzing the two definitions, Girl-Child
can therefore be a biological female offspring from birth to 18 years of age.
This period covers the nursery or early childhood (0-5 years), primary (6-12 years) and
secondary (12-18 years) during this period the child is totally under the care of the adult
who may be her parents, guardians, and older sibling, this is the period where her
physical, mental, social, spiritual, and emotional development starts to get to the peak at
the young adult stage.
However, in woman education and related issues, a girl-child refers to a female that is 13
years. The reason may not be unconnected with the critical nature of children development
at this stage, Gamba, (2000) in other related issues, Okeke, (1998) however, sees a Girl-
Child as a female that is at a formative level, that is, the stage of development.

4.3 The Development of Girl-Child Education

Girls’ education goes beyond getting girls into school. It is also about ensuring that girls
learn and feel safe while in school; could complete all levels of education acquiring the
knowledge and skills to compete in the labor market; learn the socio-emotional and life
skills necessary to navigate and adapt to a changing world; make decisions about their
own lives; and contribute to their communities and the world.

Girls’ education is a strategic development priority. Better educated women tend to be

more informed about nutrition and healthcare, have fewer children, marry at a later age,
and their children are usually healthier, should they choose to become mothers. They are
more likely to participate in the formal labor market and earn higher incomes. All these
factors combined can help lift households, communities, and countries out of poverty.

Generally female children like their male counterparts went through the traditional setting,
the type of exposure a girl may have depends largely on the socio-economic and cultural
orientation of her family. For instance, a girl from the farming background would, most
 Title 11/35

likely be taught how to sell proceeds from the farm. Apart from commerce, the girl would
also be trained in housekeeping, child rearing and other essential of home management.
One noticeable thing that is highly stressed in the education of the girl-child in the
traditional society is conformity and obedience.

4.4 Status of Girl-Child Education in Nigeria

Women in Nigeria have had various challenges to obtain equal education with their male
counterpart. Education is a basic human right and has been recognized as such 1948
adoption of universal declaration on Human Rights.
A positive correlation exists between the enrolment of girls in primary school and gross
national product and increase of life expectancy. Because of this correlation, enrollment in
schools represent the largest component of the investment in human capital in any society.
Rapid socio-economic development of a nation has been observed to depend on the
caliber of women and their education in that country. Education bestows on women a
disposition for a lifelong acquisition of knowledge, values, attitude, competence, and skills.
Elizabeth, (1984) said that the status of women has been rising because of western
education. The duty of women which was only considered to be cookery work and bear
children has now taken a different turn; many women are now doctors, lawyer, mangers,
and principals so western system of education has helped in the general improvement on
the status of women.
Nigeria’s women access to formal education is still being constraint due to their unfair
workload within the household division of labor. Consequently, the realization of MDG’s
gender equality and women empowerment target is being impeded harshly. According to
Bhavani, such unequal social and gender relations needs to be transformed to take
women out of want and poverty.
According to (Samuel, 1971) women education in Yobe State is associated with many
problems especially at the period of adolescent during which young women needs to
stablish their whole life physically emotionally, and intellectually as woman in the society.
In certain part of the state, there is generally a common tradition of women being regarded
as the workers in the home; this limits the number of girls being sent to school. Women
themselves are sometimes the greatest opponents of change. Hence the older women, the
mother, fear the effect of contact with western civilization upon their daughter and the
result of education on their children. Ayo, (1952) said before the introduction of the free
primary education and in the other cases where fees were paid, parents’ resources were
so limited that boys often have claims for economic reasons.
4.5 Programmes adopted to improved Girls education in Nigeria
Nigeria recognizes education as a fundamental human right and it is a signatory to the
major conventions for the protection of the rights of children (girls and boys) and women.
In 2004, the country enacted the Universal Basic Education (UBE) law to fast-track
attainment of Education for All (EFA) Goals. The enabling legislation was to ensure
provision compulsory free Universal Basic Education, that is, a nine-year continuous
education (6 years of Primary and 3 years of Junior Secondary Education) known as basic
education (UNICEF, 2010). For any nation to develop, it needs to provide education to its
citizens.
Enrolment rates for girls at the primary and secondary school level have increased in
some states in Nigeria due to several education programmes adopted - Universal Primary
Education (UPE), National Mass Literacy Campaign (NMLC) and Universal Basic
Education (UBE). These programmes were launched and implemented on the basis to
 Title 12/35

educate every Nigerian and eradicate illiteracy. In September 1976, Nigeria launched the
UBE scheme for all children (boys/girls) between the ages of 6 and 11 years. The
education of primary school age girls was further emphasized in the National policy on
education (revised 1981) which said that special efforts would be made to encourage
parents to send their daughters to school. This emphasis indicates the seriousness of the
federal government as per girl-child education.
The Federal Government (1988) re-echoed the theme on the ―blue print on women
education. Other stated objectives in the blueprint include the advancement of girls
‘education especially in the areas of science, technology and mathematics and the 27
industrialization of measures to discourage the withdrawal of girls from various level of
educational system for whatsoever reason. On 8th September 1982, National Mass
Literacy was launched. The main thrust of the programme was to eliminate illiteracy
through vigorous sustained two-pronged campaigns to universalize primary education for
children (boys/girls) and adults (men/women) on a massive scale.
Education of girls received a further boost when Nigerian government endorsed the goals
of the Jomtien conference of 1990 on Education for All (EFA) by the year 2000.
Subsequently, in 1993 Nigeria re-established the National Primary Education Commission
(NPEC) which had dissolved in 1991 and gave it the responsibility for pursuing EFA goals
at the primary level Ohiri-Aniche, (1998). Moreover, the Family Support Programme (FSP)
which was initiated in 1994 launched a programme intervention in Basic Education. The
Federal Ministry of Education (FME) (1994) in blueprint on Family Support Basic
Education Programme which was launched in 1988 stated that one of its key areas in
primary education and among its special target groups is also the girl-child.
UBE was launched on 30th September 1999. The aim of the scheme is to offer free,
compulsory, and qualitative education to Nigerian children in and out of school with the
intention of arresting poverty and eradicating illiteracy in the country (FME, 2000).
Thereafter, the Federal Government in conjunction with the donor agencies such as the
British Council, UNESCO, UNDP, Fond Foundation and UNICEF have also played active
roles in the promotion of female education at various categories and thus contributed to
the rise of the girl-child enrolment. The Federal Government through the Universal Basic
Education (UBE) programme is making effort at accelerating girl-child education. The
programme has made 28 some progress in increasing school enrolment for girls in
Northern Nigeria Ndeokwelu, (2010).
The United Nations Children Education Fund (UNICEF) has also initiated several
programmes to accelerate girl-child education in the country. The "Strategy for
Acceleration of Girls’ Education in Nigeria (SAGEN) was launched by UNICEF and the
Federal Ministry of Education in July 2003. SAGEN gave rise to the Girls' Education
Project (GEP) launched in December 2004 and currently under implementation. An
evaluation of GEP in March 2006 showed that Girls' school enrolment is up by 15% and in
GEP schools, actual girls’ attendance is up by 25% (with 12000 more girls regularly
attending school than before) and gender gaps are about two thirds of their previous
levels. To date, 900 schools in Nigeria are getting direct support from UNICEF (UNICEF,
2007).
According to the former Minister of Education Chinwe Nora Obaji in the United Nations
Girls’ Education Initiative technical consultation Beijing (2005), ―Building on existing Child
Friendly School Initiative which is supported by UNICEF, Nigeria has developed the
Strategy for the Acceleration of Girls' Education, which evolved into SAGEN+ and now
being reinforced by the new Girls' Education Project (GEP). This is a substantial joint
undertaking by the Federal Government of Nigeria, FCDO and UNICEF to boost girls'
 Title 13/35

schooling in Northern Nigeria and accelerate progress towards the MDGs, especially with
respect to gender equity.
4.6 Relevance of Girl-Child Education
It could be said that education is essential for both boys and girls, the benefits of educating
Girl-Child tend to be greater. This is so because Girl-Child education has been found to
have a more significant impact on poverty reduction and provision of sustainable
development. Abdul (2003), referring to a UNESCO report (1991), says that the education
of a girl is vital for the effective preparation of today ‘s girls into tomorrow’s responsible
adult women. The female child, just like the male child is entitled to all the citizenship
rights, one of which is access to compulsory basic education and opportunity for higher
education depending on her ability. According to Agun (1996) education should be given to
all citizens irrespective of gender, because in the history of man, education is the most
significant invention that has ever been made. Education serves as the means through
which the society maintains its survival and perpetuates itself. Through education society
is managed, maintained, and prevented from falling into chaos and decay, and man can
live, control, and adjust to changes in his environment.
Adedokun et al., (2010) on the view that the Girl-Child can only claim these rights and
exercise them if she understands what they mean and their implications upon her
livelihood and dignity. The Girl-Child should therefore be made to know that education is
empowerment and when she is empowered, she can fight for her rights and exercise such.
Education of the Girl-Child therefore must be a priority in the educational process of any
nation. This calls for bridging the existing gender gap in education before any enduring
success can be recorded. Lack of education of the Girl-Child denies her the knowledge
and skills needed to advance her status and so she remains below the poverty level,
wasting away in abject poverty worsened by illnesses and diseases. When a Girl-Child is
educated, she can realize her full potentials, think, question and judge independently,
develop civic sense, learn to respect her fellow human beings and be a good citizen
(Abdul, 2003) in (Korode, 2008).
When the Girl-Child is educated, her knowledge base is expanded, she can understand
and undertake socio-economic, cultural, and political transformations necessary to achieve
development. Education of the female child is positively related to her living standard and
the only effective scheme to alleviate poverty. To achieve this, is to expand the
educational opportunities available to the girl-child (Adamu, 2005). The type of education
being prescribed for the Girl-Child is one that will make herself-reliant (National Policy on
Education 2004). With education, a Girl-Child is made to be aware of fight against powerful
social structures, cultural traditional practices and attitudes that may retard progress in the
society.
Adedokun, &Olufunke (2010), opined that educating a Girl-Child will therefore help her
socialize, reproduce knowledge, and even lead her towards the production of new
knowledge. Gubio (1995), in Walkibe (2003), states that the female should be sufficiently
educated to be accepted, loved, respected, and adored in her society. With sufficient
education, she is prepared to contribute to the development of the society, socially,
economically, politically, morally, intellectually, and spiritually as well as technologically.
Gubio was particular about female education because he argues that an educated mind
can hardly be misled but the uneducated and uninformed can be bent at any moment of
emotional expression. That is why Bukar (2004) argued that gender differences ought to
be an irrelevant consideration in the schools, employment, the courts, and legislation so
that women and girls can participate in paid work on an equal footing with men. Owing to
this importance of education, it should not be an exclusive reserve for the male-children,
but the right to education should be for all. In education, lies communal spirit in that it helps
 Title 14/35

people to respect the views of others by promoting understanding, tolerance, and

friendship among the people of a community, races, and nation (Anyanwu, 1992). To bring
about all these positive changes that could result from being educated, the female - child
must not be excluded. The World Declaration on Education for All (EFA, 1990), report
emphasizes that learning opportunity shall be expanded for all so that every individual will
participate in the process of national building. To include everybody in the process of
education therefore, suitable programmes should be provided according to the needs of
the people in the curriculum.
When the girl-child is educated, she can further the case of social justice and is tolerant
socially, politically, and emotionally. For education to be effective and impactful on the
female children, there is need for citizen mobilization, there is need to bring awareness to
34 parents on the importance of the education of the female child and the pessimistic
attitudes of people to the girl-child change. The content of education should therefore be
made more relevant to the girl-child so that she will be motivated to learn. This is so,
because of her reproductive tendency and the influence she exerts on the children as the
first teacher. To meet the needs of the society and to have poverty reduced, education of
the female child must be made viable in the light of the fact that education is the key to
personal as well as national development (Lassa, 1996). So, gender equity in education
should be promoted to create a healthy educated and productive human base. Ukeje
(2000) states that education is so powerful that it can heal, kill, it can build up or tear apart;
it can lift or impoverish. Education is important in building up a sound individual with sound
health for the price of illiteracy is poverty and poverty is intricately linked with health. The
more a child suffers from poverty, the more prone the child is to illness, disease, and
malnutrition and the more the girl and parents are susceptible to health problems. Female
/children who are not educated cannot have adequate access to information on how to
prevent diseases and this unenlightened tendency will prevent them from having access to
medical treatment and health care services in the hospitals (Adedokun, 2010).
Education has special benefits for girls, both when they are young and later as adult
women. The influence on childbearing patterns is one of the most important pathways
through which education affects the lives of girls and women. Educated women tend to
marry later, have fewer children and are likely to understand what they must do to protect
themselves and their families from many diseases. Mangvwat and Abama (1992), cited in
Mangvwat (2010) observed that there is a link between educated mothers and the survival
of their children. An educated mother is most likely to know that she and her children can
be safe from such preventable 35 diseases as polio, measles, diphtheria, and diarrhea
through immunization. In specific terms, education can lead to many benefits, mortality,
improvement of child nutrition and health, lower fertility rates, enhancement of women’s
domestic role and their participation in the domain of politics, improvement of economic
productivity and growth and protection of girls from HIV/AIDs, abuse, and exploitation.
Investment in girl’s education most likely will yield some of the highest returns on all
development investment by generating both private and social benefits that accrue to
individuals, families, and society at large (Idoko, 2009). Girl-child education is as important
as boy-child education. When a girl is educated, everyone around her will feel her impact
starting from the home, her environment and society. She becomes a productive asset and
not a liability making meaningful investments.
4.7 Challenges of Girl-Child Education
Various studies have reported dwindling school enrolment of females in some parts of
Nigeria, especially the Northern geo-political zones. Some of the factors hindering the
enrolment of females in schools include socio-cultural factor such as early marriage,
ignorance, poverty, pre-marital pregnancy, and religious belief. For a nation to achieve
 Title 15/35

accelerated growth and development, both the male and female members of the country
need to be properly educated. A nation that educates a part and leaves the other is like a
bird flying with one wing. Thus, Nigeria needs to give girl-child education adequate
attention and provide the resources required.
According to UNESCO (2003) as quoted by Indabawa (2004), females constitute more
than 50% of the World ‘s active population. Even though they face several inequitable
difficulties that limit their potentials in promoting personal and collective development, they
36 are still known to make great contributions towards national development. Some of the
factors hindering the education of the girl-child as listed by Indabawa (2004) include the
following:
1. Early marriage: Girl-children are given off in marriage between the ages of ten and
fourteen limiting their chances of being formally educated and with no provision for
non-formal education for them in later life.
2. Hawking Practices: Girl-Children are mostly found in these practices. The male-
child education is much more valued than that of the girl-child, so she is to help
generate income to supplement the efforts of the parents. This robs her of access to
education. To worsen matters, in the process of hawking she comes across
unwanted pregnancy, which if care is not taken, leaves her suffering for her lifetime.
3. The poverty level of families: most families are very poor and so they have to make
a choice between girl-child ‘s education and their male ones. Traditionally, since
male children are more valued, parents mostly resorted to making their choices to
favor the education of the male child leaving the girl-child impoverished.
4. Societal attitude to girl-child: The girl-child is a weaker vessel, her place is in the
kitchen, and she will use her education to benefit her husband, so why bother to
send her to school? The societal attitude toward the girl-child is not in support of her
education and so this makes her education to be described as dwindling as and
less than equal to that of their male counterpart (Indabawa, 1998, Obanya, 2003).
5. Low Self-Concept: Another hindering factor is the girl-child ‘s low self-concept. She
sees herself as not being able to cope with the challenges of modern learning, so
she begins to find excuses, like, that after schooling. There are no job opportunities
so; it would be better for her to stay out of the reach of education. Solutions must be
sought to these and other impediments because girl-child education is a must if the
nation is to make any appreciable progress.
Furthermore, the research has shown that factors within the classroom are not the only
cause of gender imbalances in education and that home based factors which include
family size, household income, parents’ education, cultural and traditional beliefs all
contribute substantially to poor female enrolment in school. Girls are pulled out of
school and boys left in school when the family income dictates that all children cannot
be educated. Girls miss school when there are chores to be done at home or there is a
sick family member to nurse. Girls are taken out of school when they mature to prepare
them for marriage or to help supplement the family income by selling, farming, or
performing other money earning activities (Acato 2006).
The African Girls Education Initiative AGEI (2001), in Korode (2008), admits that there
is apathetic low enrolment of girls in school. To them the following could be reason for
low enrolment of female-children in schools’ especially secondary school.
• Poor conceptualization of the status and occupation of the women and girls by
the societies. The report argues that in some cultures, the female-child only
plays subordinate roles to those of the male child and is sent to school if it was
 Title 16/35

convenient for parents to bear cost. The male child is given preferential
treatment because of the notion that he will grow up to maintain the family
identity. This trend, the report observes, has inevitably led to the low enrolment
of girls in secondary schools and their high drop-out rate.
• The attitude of the society to female education and occupational choice. The
report opines that the society as it is today; is a male dominated one and
preferences, choices and decisions are made in such a way that they favor the
male gender. This attitude naturally determines the type of education women
and girls can pursue.
• Early marriage and unplanned pregnancies among girls have caused low female
enrolment in secondary schools more especially in the Northern part of Nigeria
where Islam permits girls to be married out early in life.
• The school organizational pattern and location also constitutes some little
factors. The report explains that in most schools, existing school set-up,
instructional materials and other educational activities re-enforce the inequalities
between the male and female child. Co-curricular activities in schools are male
dominated in nature and make no provision for the peculiar academic needs of
the female child. By implication 39 therefore, the functioning of the school tends
to portray male superiority and domination.
However, Nigeria, a developing country is being confronted with economic, social, political,
and educational challenges. The challenges led to the introduction of different reforms at
different levels of the national operation. The reforms were designed to bring about
developments in areas of needs through infusion of modern methods and values.
Specifically, education constitutes of a major focus because it is believed that education is
an instrument of national development and thus, it could be employed to achieve political,
economic, and social developments. The development of any nation requires the collective
efforts of its citizens and all residents. More importantly, to achieve national development,
both male and female members of the society need to be carried along (Alumode, 2000).
The World Conference on Education for All, (EFA) held in Geneva in 1990 stressed the
need for gender equity in education.
From the above literatures, it is true that the girl-child faces a lot of challenges of education
ranging from early marriage and teenage pregnancy, poverty level of parents, parents and
girl ‘s attitude to education, cultural and religious beliefs, learning environments and
distance of schools etc. All these challenges and even more hinder the education of the
girl-child.
 Title 17/35

5 Research Methodology
5.1 Research Design
Research is the systematic investigation into and study of materials and sources to
establish facts and reach new conclusions. According to Nworgu (1991) a survey research
design is one in which a group of people or items is studied by collecting and analyzing
data from only a few people or items considered to be representing of an entire group.
For this study ―The Challenges of Girl-Child education in Yobe state (Damaturu and Bade
in particular) a questionnaire was designed for data collection. The survey research would
enable the researcher to draw from the population a sample that would be representative
of the entire population and a basis for generalization.
5.2 Population and Sample Size
Based on the 2006 population census with the yearly population growth rate of
+3.06%/year, Damaturu Local Government Area has a population size of 340,054 while
Bade Local Government Area has a population size of 256,836. The population of the
study consists of the State Universal Education Board (SUBEB), Local Government
Education Authority in Damaturu and Bade, parents, teachers, and community leaders.
The totality of these groups constitutes the population. This study will primarily focus on
three (3) wards from each Local Government Area of study (Damaturu and Bade). From
each ward, one community will be used making a total of six (6) communities to be used
for the research work.
This study adopts the Steely Yamane‘s formula arriving at sample size. The method is
depicting as follows.

n=N
1+N(e)2

Where, n= Sample size, N= Population size, e= Level of Significance (5%)

To know the exact population of the three communities to be used for the research work,
the exponential method for population projection was adopted. And to know the
appropriate sample size for this research work, the proportional sample distribution was
adopted. The formula for exponential method for population projection is.
Pt = Pern
Where; Pt=population in the future date, P=base year population, r=growth rate, n=number
of years between Pt and P;e=exponential

Table 5.2.1: Population and Sample Size

Local Ward Community Projected Sample Size
Government Population
Damaturu Gabir Moduri Muduri 45,315 127
Damaturu Murfa Kalam Dukkumari 27,293 76
Damaturu Gabia Kalallawa Gabia 23,287 65
Bade Lawan Fannami Bultumari 16,078 45
 Title 18/35

Bade Zango Yakubu Me 15,596 44

Yanka
Bade Sabon Gari Fulatari 15,509 43
Total 143,078 400
Source: Field Survey, 2020

Therefore, the population for this study is 143,078 and the sample size is 400
An example of how the population and sample size of one of the communities on the table
above was calculated is shown below.
The sample size for both Damaturu and bade Local Government is calculated below using
Steely Yamane‘s formula:

n = N____
1 + N (e)2

To find N, it is the sum of both Damaturu (340,054) and Bade (276,836) Local Government
Areas.

N= 340,054+276,836

Therefore N= 616,890.

n = N_______
1 + N (e)2

n = 616,890_______
1+616,890 (5%)2

n = 616,890_________
1+ 616,890 (0.0025)

n = 616,890
1542.22
n = 400

To find the population size of Muduri using exponential method for population projection

(Pt=Pern)

Pt= 2014; P = 12,978; e = exponential; r =0.03; n = 23

 Title 19/35

2014 = 12,978 e 0.03×23

2014 = 25,874 50

Therefore, the projected population for Muduri in 2020 is 45,315.

The sample size for Muduri was calculated thus:

= 45,315×400
143,078

= 18,126,00
143,078
= 126.67
Therefore, the sample size for Muduri is approximately 127.

5.3 Sampling Technique

Simple random and purposive sampling techniques was adopted. Simple random sample
is a subset of individuals (a sample) chosen from a larger set (a population). Everyone is
chosen randomly and entirely by chance, such that each element has the same probability
of being chosen at any stage during the sampling process. A simple random sample is an
unbiased surveying technique. This technique will be used to select questionnaire
respondents. Any respondent who agrees to respond to our questionnaire will make up our
sample for this study; therefore, given equal chances to members of the public to
contribute to this research. A purposive sample, also commonly called a judgmental
sample, is one that is selected based on the knowledge of a population and the purpose of
the study. The subjects are selected because of some characteristic. This technique will
be used to select respondents for interview. We will select interview respondents based on
their specific knowledge of the challenges of girl-child education within the study areas.
5.4 Sources of Data
During this study, both primary and secondary data will be collected. Primary Source is
data generated by the researcher through firsthand information. The primary source of
data collection will be sourced through Questionnaire. Furthermore, questionnaires will be
administered to achieve the purpose of hypothesis testing. The questionnaires will be
prepared on a close-ended format using the Likert Scale, which has a five-response
categorization and will also have some open-ended question. The secondary source of
data will be collected from printed works of State Universal Basic Education Board
Damaturu, Yobe State.
5.5 Data Collection Method
During this research study, the primary data to be used will be collected through
questionnaires. Also, questionnaires will be distributed to members of the public who will
be randomly selected to answer the questions provided within Damaturu and Bade Local
Government Areas. The distribution of the questionnaires will be within three wards from
each Local Government Areas of the study and from each ward, a community will be
selected for the distribution. For the secondary data, documents on girl-child education
data were gotten from the State universal basic education boards (SUBEB) in Yobe state.
 Title 20/35

DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS

6.1 Introduction
Here the analyses data collected from secondary sources and field survey in Damaturu
and Bade Local Government Areas of Yobe state on the challenges of Girl-child education.
In Damaturu Local Government, two hundred and thirty-seven (237) questionnaires were
administered while two hundred and sixty-three (163) questionnaires were administered in
Bade Local Government, making of a total of four hundred (400) questionnaires
administered in both Local Government which were all filled and returned. Secondary data
collected from State Universal Education Board of Yobe State and were analyzed. Also,
data generated from questionnaire were collected and analyzed. From the responses
given by respondents, data was empirically arranged below using simple tables,
frequencies and percentages, chi-square, and reasons for the nature of responses given,
respectively. The hypotheses were tested at the end of the chapter with discussions of the
finding from the analyzed data and test of the hypotheses.

6.2 Presentation and Analysis of Secondary Data

Table 6.2.1 Summary of Damaturu LGEA Pupils Enrollment from 2014 - 2019
S/No. Year Male Female Total
1. 2014 13,422 12,044 25,466
2. 2015 14,155 13,404 27,559
3. 2016 15,561 14,571 30,132
4. 2017 17,858 16,131 33,989
5. 2018 23,546 21,878 45,424
6. 2019 25,754 25,543 51,297
Sources: Yobe State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) Research and Statistics Department, 2020

Table 6.2.2 Summary of Damaturu LGEA Junior Secondary Enrollment from 2014 – 2019
S/No. Year Male Female Total
1. 2014 2,928 2,101 5,029
2. 2015 3,465 3,376 6,828
3. 2016 4,241 3,863 8,104
4. 2017 3,913 3,139 7,052
5. 2018 4,598 3,296 7,894
6. 2019 4,743 4,498 9,241
Sources: Yobe State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) Research and Statistics Department, 2020
 Title 21/35

Table 6.2.3 Summary of Bade LGEA Pupils Enrollment from 2014 - 2019
S/No. Year Male Female Total
1 2014 16,839 16,201 33,040
2 2015 17,402 16,459 33,861
3 2016 17,921 17,712 35,633
4 2017 19,225 17,299 36,524
5 2018 21,814 20,294 42,108
6. 2019 23,603 21,972 45,575
Sources: Yobe State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) Research and Statistics Department, 2020

Table 6.2.4 Summary of Bade LGEA Junior Secondary Enrollment from 2014 – 2019
S/No. Year Male Female Total
1 2014 3,282 2,019 5,301
2 2015 3,723 2,976 6,699
3 2016 4,524 3,576 8,100
4 2017 4,581 3,913 8,494
5 2018 4,732 4,154 8,886
6. 2019 4,817 4,197 9,014
Sources: Yobe State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) Research and Statistics Department, 2020

Looking at the data presented above, the enrolment statistics of Damaturu and Bade Local
Government areas show that boys has been more that the girls. However, In Bade for
example in 2017 the girls’ enrolment at the primary school level shows more than the
boys. This trend is still applied at the junior secondary school level in both local
government areas boy’s enrolment is more than that of the girls. Indeed, the difference
boys and girl’s enrolment at the Junior secondary level is widening, that goes to show that
the progression will continue up to the senior secondary level. The enrolment rate of girl-
child and that of the boys into primary and junior secondary school which is the basic and
compulsory as stipulated in the UBE act of 2004 which states that “This Act provides for
compulsory, free universal basic education for all children of primary and junior secondary
school age in the Federal Republic of Nigeria. It further seeks to provide punishment for
parents for failing to comply with its provisions”, yet the disparity is still clear in Yobe state.
Due to the awareness from both the government and the development partners presence
in the northeast, we have seen significant improvement in the number of girl’s enrolment in
2018 and 2019 for both primary and junior secondary schools. From this enrolment figures
one can confidently say that the girl’s education in Damaturu and Bade in the recent years
is valued. However, there are still challenges which serves as a factor that the boys
enrolment figure is still higher than that of the girls. These challenges among other things
will far away from the non-challan attitude of parents to prioritize the education of girl-child.
Teenage pregnancy, early marriage, house chores, hawking and poverty are amongst
other challenges that be devil the enrolment of girl-child in Yobe state.
As a way of encouraging the enrolment of pupils and students into school, the government
of Yobe state has ensured that the 9 years basic education is free and compulsory in
 Title 22/35

addition to the school feeding program. The result of this action is the massive enrolment
of pupils into schools. Today, the state is faced with inadequate facilities to accommodate
the growing population in the schools. The facilities are overstretched where a class of 40
pupils per teachers is taking over hundred pupils per teacher which in real sense ideal. To
summon this challenge the state government have improve on its Inspection and
supervision, because of its focus on monitoring and evaluation of academic performance
and development in schools, is always carried out with the intention of maintaining and
improving the quality of student’s learning. Inspection and supervision will also provide a
room for the government to know when there is need for training and workshop of teachers
for improvement of incompetent ones among them and a means for staff development. It is
equally important the state government should put into consideration the available facilities
in these primary schools. It is not just the number of students enrolled in schools alone but
the kind of impartation of knowledge they receive is also important. The learning
environment goes a long way in determining if students or pupils will stay and receive the
required knowledge and skill.
6.3 Presentation and Analysis of Primary Data
The data below was generated from the responses gathered when the questionnaires was
administered to members of the communities in Muduri, dukkumar, Gabia, Bultumari,
Yakumu Me Yanka and Fulatri. The questionnaire was formulated using the Likert Scale
format and had fourteen questions, two (2) open ended and two (12) close ended. Four
hundred questionnaires were distributed and returned. Below is the presentation of data
collected from questionnaire responses using simple tables, frequencies, and
percentages.
Table 6.3.1 Gender of Respondents
Option Responses Percentage (%) Cumulative
Percentage (%)
Male 209 52.25 52.25
Female 191 47.75 100
Total 400 100
Source: Field Survey, 2020
Table 6.3.1 shows that 209 representing 52.25% of the total respondents were male while
191 representing 47.75% were female. It shows that a greater percentage of the
respondents in both Damaturu and Bade were male.
Table 6.3.2 Age of Respondents
Options Responses Percentage (%) Cumulative
Percentage (%)
15 – 25 186 46.5 46.5
25 – 35 122 30.5 77
35 – 45 45 11.25 88.25
45 - 55 25 6.25 94.5
Above 55 22 5.5 100
Total 400 100
Source: Field Survey, 2020
 Title 23/35

Table 6.3.2 shows that majority of the respondents in both Damaturu and Bade local
government areas fall within the age group of 15 – 25 years representing 46.5%. This was
deliberate in other allow respondents at this age group to speak out the challenges facing
them. The next age category is 25 – 35 years representing 30.5% who mostly are leaving
with the consequence of lack of opportunity to further their education while other age
categories take the lower proportion.
Table 6.3.3 Marital Status of Respondents
Frequency Percentage (%) Cumulative
Percentage (%)
Single 243 60.75 60.75
Married 146 36.5 97.25
Widow/Widower 11 2.75 100
Total 400 100
Source: Field Survey, 2020
Table 6.3.4 shows that the greater percentage of the respondents are single with 243
representing 60.75%, the married with 146 representing 36.5% and the widow/widower
with 11 representing 2.75%.
Table 6.3.4 Educational Qualification of Respondents
Frequency Percentage (%) Cumulative
Percentage (%)
Primary School 51 12.75 12.75
Cert.
SSCE/GCE 183 45.75 58.5
OND/ND 89 22.25 80.75
HND/Degree 62 15.5 96.25
Postgraduate 15 3.75 100
Total 400
Source: Field Survey, 2020
Table 6.3.5 shows that 12.75% of the respondents have primary certificate, 183
respondents representing 45.75% have SSCE/GCE, 89 respondents representing 22.25%
are OND/ND holders. The lower proportion are holders of degree and postgraduate
degrees.
Table 6.3.5 Occupation of Respondents
Frequency Percentage (%) Cumulative
Percentage (%)
Civil Servant 69 17.25 17.25
Student 212 53 70.25
Trader 55 13.75 84
Farmer 19 4.75 88.75
Others 45 11.25 100
 Title 24/35

Total 400 100

Source: Field Survey, 2020
Table 6.3.5 shows that the civil servant represents 17.25% of the respondents, 53%
represent students who are at the centers of this study. Traders represent 13.75%,
farmers represent 4.75% and other respondents who are involved in other business/jobs
represent 11.25%.
Table 6.3.6 Enrolment of boys in schools is higher than girls in this community
Frequency Percentage (%) Cumulative
Percentage (%)
Strongly agree 69 17.25 17.25
Agree 221 55.25 72.5
Undecided 16 4 76.5
Disagree 76 19 95.5
Strongly 18 4.5 100
disagree
Total 400 100
Source: Field Survey, 2020
Table 6.3.6 shows that 72.5% of the respondents agreed that enrolment of boys in schools
is higher than girls in this community. Only 23.5% disagreed with the assertion however,
4% undecided. The above table show that more boys go to school more that girls in
Damaturu and Bade.
Table 6.3.7 Preference is given to girl’s early marriage than going to school in this
community
Frequency Percentage (%) Cumulative
Percentage (%)
Strongly agree 146 36.5 36.5
Agree 230 57.5 93
Undecided 4 1 95
Disagree 15 3.75 98.75
Strongly 5 1.25 100
disagree
Total 400 100
Source: Field Survey, 2020
Table 6.3.7 shows that 93% of the respondents agreed that preference is given to early
marriage than going to school, 5% disagreed and 1% undecided. Based on this, girls in
Damaturu and Bade Local Government Areas prefer to marry at an early age than going to
school.
Table 6.3.8 Parents/guidance engaged girls to hawk and do house chores than
schooling in this community
Frequency Percentage (%) Cumulative
Percentage (%)
 Title 25/35

Strongly agree 99 24.75 24.75

Agree 213 53.25 78
Undecided 6 1.5 79.5
Disagree 67 16.75 96.25
Strongly 15 3.75 100
disagree
Total 400 100
Source: Field Survey, 2020
Table 6.3.8 shoe that 78% of respondents agreed that parents/guidance engaged girls to
hawk and support family livelihood than schooling, 20.5% disagree while 1.5% undecided.
This data shows that in Yobe state (Damaturu and Bade) parents pay more attention in
sending their girls to go and hawk at the expense of the education of the girl-child.
Table 6.3.9 The education of girl-child is being hindered by traditional practice in
this community.
Frequency Percentage (%) Cumulative
Percentage (%)
Strongly agree 51 12.75 12.75
Agree 168 42 54.75
Undecided 4 1 55.75
Disagree 152 38 93.75
Strongly 25 6.25 100
disagree
Total 400 100
Source: Field Survey, 2020
Table 6.3.9 shows that 54.75% of the respondents agreed that the education of girl-child is
being hindered by traditional practice, 44.25% disagreed and 1% undecideds. In Damaturu
and Bade based on the data above shows that some traditional practices hinder the
education of girl-child education.
Table 6.3.10 Religion is a hinderance to girl-child education this community
Frequency Percentage (%) Cumulative
Percentage (%)
Strongly agree 22 5.5 5.5
Agree 91 22.75 28.25
Undecided 4 1 29.25
Disagree 211 52.75 82
Strongly 72 18 100
disagree
Total 400 100
Source: Field Survey, 2020
 Title 26/35

Table 6.3.10 shows that 70.75% of the respondents disagreed that religion is a hinderance
to girl-child education in this community, 28.25% agreed and 1% are undecided.
Therefore, the data presented above religion is not the hinderance to girl-child education in
Damaturu and Bade Local Government areas.
Table 6.3.11 Parents think that educating girls to boys is a waste of resources in this
community
Frequency Percentage (%) Cumulative
Percentage (%)
Strongly agree 45 11.25 11.25
Agree 162 40.5 51.75
Undecided 16 4 55.75
Disagree 145 36.25 92
Strongly 32 8 100
disagree
Total 400 100
Source: Field Survey, 2020
Table 6.3.11 shows 51.75% of the respondents agreed that parents think that educating a
girl-child to boys is a waste of resources in this community, 44.25% disagree while 4%
undecided. Therefore, the data above show that in Damaturu and Bade Local Government
Parents think that educating girls to boys is a waste of resources in this community
Table 6.3.12 Lack of water, sanitation facilities and hygiene practices in school
hinders girl-child education in this community
Frequency Percentage (%) Cumulative
Percentage (%)
Strongly agree 27 6.75 6.75
Agree 115 28.75 35.5
Undecided 60 15 50.5
Disagree 160 40 90.5
Strongly 38 9.5 100
disagree
Total 400 100
Source: Field Survey, 2020
Table 6.3.12 shows that 49.5% of the responded disagree that Lack of water, sanitation
facilities in school hinders girl-child education in this community, 35.5% agreed while 15%
undecided.
Table 6.3.13 Damaturu/Bade Local Government has done much to improve girl-child
education in this community
Frequency Percentage (%) Cumulative
Percentage (%)
Yes 245 61.25 61.25
No 155 38.75 100
 Title 27/35

Total 400 100

Source: Field Survey, 2020
Table 6.3.13 shows that 61.25% of the responded said Yes Local Government has done
much to improve girl-child education in this community while 38.75% said No.
Table 6.3.14 The Local Government effort improve girl-child education has been
effective
Frequency Percentage (%) Cumulative
Percentage (%)
Strongly agree 39 9.75 9.75
Agree 147 36.75 46.5
Undecided 62 15.5 62
Disagree 119 29.75 91.75
Strongly 33 8.25 100
disagree
Total 400 100
Source: Field Survey, 2020
Table 6.3.14 shows that 46.5% of the respondents agreed that Local Government effort to
improve girl-child education in Damaturu and Bade is effective, 38% disagreed while
15.5% undecided.
Table 6.3.15 Government has carried out public awareness, campaigns, rallies, and
seminar to encourage the education of girl-child in this community
Frequency Percentage (%) Cumulative
Percentage (%)
Strongly agree 38 9.5 9.5
Agree 194 48.5 58
Undecided 38 9.5 67.5
Disagree 108 27 94.5
Strongly 22 5.5 100
disagree
Total 400 100
Source: Field Survey, 2020
Table 6.3.15 shows that 58% of the respondents agreed that Government has carried out
public awareness, campaigns, rallies, and seminar to encourage the education of girl-child
in this community, 32.5% disagreed while 9.5% undecided.
Table 6.3.16 State Universal Education Board has done much in encouraging equal
access to basic education for both boys and girls in this community
Frequency Percentage (%) Cumulative
Percentage
Strongly agree 56 14 14
Agree 243 60.75 74.75
 Title 28/35

Undecided 39 9.75 84.5

Disagree 47 11.75 96.25
Strongly 15 3.75 1005
disagree
Total 400 100
Source: Field Survey, 2020
Table 6.3.16 shows that 74.75% of the respondents have agreed that SUBEB has done so
much in encouraging equal access to basic education for both boys and girls in this
community in Damaturu and Bade Local Governments, 15.25% disagreed while 9.75
undecided.
Table 6.3.17 Government lack political will to implement policies on girl-child
education in this community
Frequency Percentage (%) Cumulative
Percentage (%)
Strongly agree 55 13.75 13.75
Agree 144 36 49.75
Undecided 16 4 53.75
Disagree 150 37.5 91.25
Strongly 35 8.75 100
disagree
Total 400 100
Source: Field Survey, 2020
Table 6.3.17 shows that 49.75% of the respondents agreed that Government lack political
will to implement policies on girl-child education in this community, 46.25% disagreed
while 4% undecided. Based on the data above one can see that government is not doing
much to encourage the education of girl-child.

6.4 Data Analysis

6.4.1 Testing of hypothesis
The data generated and presented in the previous section is now tested against the
hypotheses advanced. The statistical instrument utilized for this purpose is the regression
analysis.
Hypothesis one
Ho1: There is significant relationship between cultural beliefs of a society and the
advancement of girl-child education in Damaturu and Bade Local Government areas.
Hypothesis two
Ho2: The ability of Damaturu and Bade Local Government areas to contribute substantially
to girl-child education is significantly dependent on their programmes and policies
 Title 29/35

6.5 Discussion of Findings

From the analysis of the data and test of the study’s hypotheses it was observed that there
are challenges to girl child education. Base on the testing of hypothesis one, the alternate
was accepted which states that ―there is significant relationship between cultural beliefs
of a society and the advancement of girl-child education in Damaturu and Bade Local
Government areas. From the result of the hypothesis its shows that the advancement of
girl-child education can be attributed to the cultural beliefs of the society the girl-child lives
in. This shows that there are still several challenges that pose a threat to the education of
the girl-child. Despite the availability of schools in the areas and frequent enrollment, girls’
rate of completion is still low compared to their male counterparts. Some of these
challenges are; financial constraints, ignorance and non-challant attitude by both parents
and the girls, hawking and house chores, early marriage and teenage pregnancy, distance
of schools, toilet facilities and school infrastructures, government attitude and teacher ‘s
welfare. All these are the major challenges of girl-child education in Damaturu and Bade
Local Government areas. The Yobe state government should make concerted effort to
alleviate poverty at the grass root, as this will undoubtedly overcome the challenge of not
sending the girl-children to school by parents for reason of poverty. This is because the
major issue concerning girl-child education is poverty amongst parents. From hypothesis
two, the alternate which says ―The ability of Damaturu and Bade Local Governments to
contribute substantially to girl-child education is significantly dependent on their
programmes and policies was accepted. Even though the government has done
something to encourage girl-child education, the people feel it is not very effective. There
is so much that is expected from the government around education. Most government
schools need to be renovated, teachers need to be paid as and when due, more
awareness and campaigns need to be carried out to encourage girl-child education. There
are policies that have been formulated by government but they most times pay lip-service
and lack the political will to implement such policies and they have the resources to
implement policies and programmes on girl-child education. The person that can
encourage parents and tell them the benefits of educating the girl child is the government.
Others may come in to help like NGOs and philanthropists, but their gate way or main
entrance is the Local Governments. There is the need for parents to encourage their
children to acquire knowledge. In both Damaturu and Bade Local Governments, parents
who are uneducated and do not know the value of education are reluctant in sending their
girls to school. They most times prefer them to hawk and help with the house chores.
Some parents feel it is a waste of resources to educate the female since to them she will
get married and end up in the kitchen as a housewife. Government and educated people
need to enlighten such parents to know that the education of the girl child is important and
has benefits. Educating a girl-child is like educating a nation because whatever she learns
she transfers to her home and environment. The girl-child also needs to be serious and
value education. Girls need to know that their future is in their hands and if they want to
become great in life they must go to school, read, and excel. The school management
should make sure students do not leave school before closing hours. The learning
environments should be conducive and girl friendly. Girls will stay in school if the
environment is safe and if there are health and sanitary facilities in schools. Some schools
in Damaturu and Bade Local Government areas do not have chairs and textbooks which is
not ideal. Government should make it a duty to provide a conducive and girl friendly
learning environment in schools. Based on the above discussion, everything boils down to
the government doing their part in encouraging girl-child education. They should not relent
in their effort, and they should revisit the policies that are on ground.
 Title 30/35

SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

7.1 Introduction
This chapter concludes this work by presenting the summary of the research work and
major findings. Conclusion and recommendations drawn from this research work are made
as to how the problems highlighted in this research are to be addressed.
7.2 Summary
This work was centered on the challenges of Girl-child education in Yobe state case study
Damaturu and Bade Local Government areas. It was discovered that even with the
presence of government policies and programmes on girl-child education, there are still
several challenges of girl-child education which are peculiar to Damaturu and Bade Local
Government areas. One of these challenges found is ignorance and non-challant attitude
of some parents and girls who feel that the education of the girl-child is not that important.
Parents and some society feel that the place of the girl-child and women is in the kitchen
and for domestic chores. The truth is when the girl-child is educated, she adds value to her
home, environment, and society in general. Another challenge discovered is the poverty
level of parents. It was found out it is one of the major issue or challenge of girl-child
education in both Damaturu and Bade Local Government areas. Most parents in Babe
Local Government area are farmers who depend on the profits they make from their farm
produce to send their children to school. When there is no profit they withdraw their
children especially the girl-child because they cannot raise the money for their school fees.
In Bade Government parents are mostly traders while some are without jobs. Parents feel
the school fees are not affordable for them to pay for their children, so they withdraw their
children from school. Another challenge discovered is early marriage and teenage
pregnancy. Early marriage is more pronounced in Damaturu Local Government area while
teenage pregnancy is more pronounced in Bade Local Government area. There are still a
few parents who still believe in the tradition of early marriage of the girl-child because they
feel her education is not that important and would prefer the benefits, they will get from
marrying her. In Damaturu, young girls get sexually involved with boys and end up
pregnant. This as a result makes them leave school because they would have to become
parents at a very tender age. Also, it was discovered that girls stay back at home to help
with the house chores and hawk to support their families. Because of the poverty level of
parents, girls hawk either before or after schools’ hours to support their families financially
and sometimes these girls abandon their education and become full time hawkers. Most
schools in both Damaturu and Bade Local Government areas especially public schools
have very poor structures with no chairs or desk, textbooks, teaching and learning aids
and poor toilet facilities. The absence of all these discourages the enrolment and retention
of the girl-child. Another challenge discovered is ineffective policies and programmes of
government. Government has policies and programmes on girl-child education, but the
people feel it is not very effective. The government needs to do more to encourage the few
people who still hold on to the belief that girl-child education is a waste of time and
resources.
7.3 Conclusion
This study which was on the challenges of Girl-child education in Yobe state focusing on
Damaturu and Bade Local Government Areas was aimed at ascertaining the level of girl-
child education, evaluating the contributions of the study areas towards girl-child
education, identifying, and discussing the challenges of girl-child education and make
recommendations that will help improve girl-child education in the study areas. Data was
generated using secondary data, questionnaires It was found that there are frequent
enrolments of the girl-child into schools, but they sometimes withdraw due to financial
 Title 31/35

constraint, ignorance and non-challant attitude by parents and girls, early marriage and
teenage pregnancy, poor learning environment, house chores and hawking and distance
of Damaturu and Bade Local Government areas have contributed to girl-child education
through UBE programmes and other policies on education. This implies that even with the
policies and programmes available, there is still several challenges of girl-child education
that need to be dealt with if there should be equality in education. Education is the right of
every girl everywhere and key to transforming her life and the life of her community.
Although much has been done to improve the caliber and existence of girls' education in
Nigeria, there is still much that needs to be done. All barriers must be eliminated to enable
all girls to development their full potential through equal access to education.
7.4 Recommendations
Based on the major findings of this study, it is therefore imperative that to improve the
educational base of the girl-child and by extension her socio-political and economic status,
government, community leaders, parents, professional guidance, counselors, and other
stakeholders should take cognizance of the following recommendations:
1. Government at all levels should make concerted effort to alleviate poverty at the
grass root, as this will undoubtedly overcome the challenge of not sending the girl-
children to school by parents for reason of poverty.
2. Another responsibility that government should take up to tackle this menace is to
provide free, compulsory primary and secondary education in Yobe State. Schools
should be built, well-staffed and equipped to provide quality education so that the
children can compete favorably with their counterparts from other parts of the
country.
3. Parents should be enlightened to encourage the girl-child to acquire basic
education, at least, that will make her self-reliant and to secure a better future for
herself. Governments, Non-Governmental Organizations, Religious leaders, and
traditional rulers have a major role to play in leading these awareness and
enlightenment campaigns on not only the importance of western education for the
girl-child but also on the need to discard the various cultural and religious
misconceptions that have militated against girl-child education in Northeast Nigeria
over the years.
4. Governments should also make a promulgation by rising the age of marriage for
girls to at least twenty (20) years of age or above.
5. The girl-child needs to be provided with a safe and supportive educational
environment, free from abuse, with separate toilet facilities, safe drinking water,
equal attention with boys and a gender sensitive curriculum. The school curriculum
also needs to be revisited, to ensure gender and cultural sensitivity.
6. More schools need to be built especially secondary schools in rural areas to avoid
distant trekking to attend classes by students. And these schools should be
equipped with the necessary facilities. There should also be more girl boarding
schools so that parents who do not like mixed schools can send their girls to school.
7. Gender balanced curriculum and education policies should be established to
consider the interest of the girl-child so that she is motivated to learn and teacher ‘s
welfare should be considered.
 Title 32/35

REFERENCE

[1] Ada, N.A. (1992). The Paradox of Equality of Education Opportunities for All Citizens in
Nigeria and Challenges of Rural Transformation. Journal of the Arts and Humanities, (2)
48-56.
[2] Abdul, H. B. (2003). Policy Dialogue for Policy Makers. A Paper Presented at
Stakeholders and E.F.A Coordinators in the UNIVEPD Field State, Maiduguri, Nigeria.
Acato Y. (2006). Quality Assurance Vital. New vision, University guide 2006/2007.
[3] Adamu, Y. (2005). Policy Makers and Stakeholders Advocacy. A Paper Presented at
Sensitization Workshop to Enhance Girls Participation in Education. Damaturu, Yobe
State, Nigeria.
[4] Adeniran and Adebusuyi I. (2007). Educational Inequalities and Women's
Disempowerment in Nigeria. Department of Sociology, University of Lagos, Nigeria Agun,
O. (1996). Social Differentiation in Access to Educational Opportunities: A Brake on
Development of Women. A Paper Presented at Annual Conference of Educational Studies
Association of University of Ilorin.
[5]. Federal Office of Statistics (2004). The Nigerian Statistical Fact Sheet on Economic
and Social Development. National Bureau of Statistics, ISBN 978-34144-0-2.
[6]. Grace, E.T. (2010). Girls Child Education: Rising to challenge. African Journal of
Reproductive Health, 14(3): 107.
[7] Garba, J. A. (2014). Factors Militating Against the Enrolment and Retention of Girl-
Child Students in Junior Secondary Schools in Kaduna State. Thesis Submitted to
Department of Educational Foundation and Curriculum, Ahmadu Bello University, 93 Zaria
in Partial Fulfillment of the requirement for the Award of the master’s degree in education
[8] Iheanecho, A. A. (2002). Socio-economic Determinants of Girls-child Participation in
Secondary Education in Borno State. Unpublished Ph.D Thesis: University of Maiduguri,
Nigeria. Jhingan, M.L., (2007). The Economics of Development and Planning.39th edition.
[9]. National School Census (2006). Federal Ministry of Education Statistics and Planning
Unit, National Policy on Education (NPE, 2004).
[10]. Nigeria UNICEF Country Office (2007). Girls Education.http://www.unicef.org/wcaro-
nigeria-factsheets-girlseducation.pdf.
[11]. Offorma, G.C (2009). Girl-child Education in Africa. Keynote Address Presented at
the Conference of the University Women of Africa Held in Lagos, Nigeria, 16th-19th July
2009.
[12] Oke M (2000). Gender gap and access to secondary school science education: The
way forward. WAEC Monthly Seminar Paper, 2:103-113.
[13] Ukeje, B. O. (2000). Teacher Education in Nigeria: Current Status. 21st Century
Challenges and Strategies for Improvement.
[14]. Yobe State Universal Education Board (SUBEB) (2020). Enrolment and Admission
Register, (from the Department of Research and Statistics Damaturu).
 Title 33/35

APPENDIX
QUESTIONNAIRE

Questionnaire for the members of the public in Damaturu and Bade Local
Government area in Yobe State

Family Health International (FHI360)

Yobe State Office
Nigeria
Dear Respondents,
QUESTIONNAIRE ADMINISTRATION
I am currently undergoing a master’s program with KALU Institute carrying out a research
in Damaturu and Bade Local Government Areas. The Questionnaire seeks to solicit for
your kind support to provide me with information purely for academic purpose relating to
“the Challenges of Girl-Child Education”.
I assure you that the information you will provide in this Questionnaire will be treated with
utmost confidentiality.

Thanks in advance for your support.

Yours Faithfully,

Edward Ishaku
 Title 34/35

Section A: Personal Data of Respondent

Please tick appropriately
1. Gender Male () Female ()
2. Age 15-24() 25- 40 () 41-55 () 56 and above ()
3. Marital status
Single () Married () widow/widower ()
4. Educational qualification
a. Primary School Certificate () b. SSCE/GCE () c. OND/ND ()
d. HND/First Degree () e. Postgraduate ()
5. Occupation
a. Civil servant () b. Student () c. Trader ( ) d. Farmer ( )
e. Others () specify_____________

Section B – Challenges of Girl-child Education

Please tick appropriately and answer question 13 and 14
1. Enrolment of boys in school is higher than girls in this community
(a) Strongly agree [ ] (b) Agree [ ] (c) Undecided [ ] (d) Disagree [ ]
(e) Strongly disagree [ ]
2. Preference if given to girl’s early marriage than going to school in this community
(a) Strongly agree [ ] (b) Agree [ ] (c) Undecided [ ] (d) Disagree [ ]
(e) Strongly disagree [ ]
3. Parents/guidance engage girls to hawk and do house chores than schooling in this
community
(a) Strongly agree [ ] (b) Agree [ ] (c) Undecided [ ] (d) Disagree [ ]
(e) Strongly disagree [ ]
4. The education of girl-child is being hindered by traditional practices in this community
(a) Strongly agree [ ] (b) Agree [ ] (c) Undecided [ ] (d) Disagree [ ]
(e) Strongly disagree [ ]
5. Religion is a hindrance to girl-child education in this community
(a) Strongly agree [ ] (b) Agree [ ] (c) Undecided [ ] (d) Disagree [ ]
(e) Strongly disagree [ ]
6. Parents think that educating girls to boys is a waste of resources in this community (a)
Strongly agree [ ] (b) Agree [ ] (c) Undecided [ ] (d) Disagree [ ]
(e) Strongly disagree [ ]
7. Lack of water, sanitation facilities and hygiene practices in schools hinders girl-child
education in this community
(a) Strongly agree [ ] (b) Agree [ ] (c) Undecided [ ] (d) Disagree [ ]
 Title 35/35

(e) Strongly disagree [ ]

8. Damaturu/Bade Local Government has done much to improve girl-child education in this
community?
(a) Yes [ ] (b) No [ ]
9. If yes, do you agree that the Local Government effort to improve girl-child has been
effective?
(a) Strongly agree [ ] (b) Agree [ ] (c) Undecided [ ] (d) Disagree [ ]
(e) Strongly disagree [ ]
10. Government has carried out public awareness, campaigns, rallies, and seminars to
encourage the education of girl-child in this community
(a) Strongly agree [ ] (b) Agree [ ] (c) Undecided [ ] (d) Disagree
[ ] (e) Strongly disagree [ ]
11. SUBEB has done much in encouraging equal access to basic education for both boys
and girls in this community
(a) Strongly agree [ ] (b) Agree [ ] (c) Undecided [ ] (d) Disagree [ ]
(e) Strongly disagree [ ]
12. Government lack political will to implement policies on girlchild education in this
community
(a) Strongly agree [ ] (b) Agree [ ] (c) Undecided [ ] (d) Disagree [ ]
(e) Strongly disagree [ ]
13. In your own view, what are the challenges of girl-child education in this community?

14. What do you think are the best options to handle these challenges?