Innovation for girl-child education

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) noted in a statement on the day of the girl child that, “despite the decreasing number of girls out of school, too many around the world are still denied a quality education and a chance to reach their full potential. ”The UN agency said not less than 31 million […]

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) noted in a statement on the day of the girl child that, “despite the decreasing number of girls out of school, too many around the world are still denied a quality education and a chance to reach their full potential. ”The UN agency said not less than 31 million primary school aged girls are currently out of school, despite proven evidence that even a single year of secondary school for a girl correlates with as much as a 25 per cent increase in her future earnings.“  Education can transform the lives of girls and strengthen their communities,” UNICEF Executive Director, Anthony Lake, said.
 A report of a score card on performance of states in the education sector was also released. The report showed that eight states in Nigeria have the worst record of highest female illiteracy, as they have the lowest number of girls in school. The report showed that most of the states are from the Northern states of Kebbi, Sokoto, Bauchi, Jigawa, Yobe, Zamfara, Katsina, and Gombe. They were also reported to currently have the highest adolescent girls’ marriage’, highest under 18 child bearing records and highest under 15 child bearing placing them in the highest risk category for maternal death and injury.
Women activists were pleased to have a male advocate leading the campaign for girl child education and appealing to the conscience of policy makers most of whom are men. RotimiSankore the lead advocate for Africa Health, Human & Social Development Information Service (Afri-Dev.Info), Africa Coalition on Maternal Newborn and Child Health, and Pan African Campaign Against Forced Marriage of Under Age Children, who spoke on the report of the score card said, “The basic ability to read and write is absolute minimum condition to function in a modern society, to escape from poverty and to contribute to community, national and African development.”
Sankore said, “The scale of the problem is self evident, and these are the kind of problems that the Governors Forum should be giving their most urgent attention to, especially from those eight Northern states where it is obvious that the educational, health and overall human development of girls is key to their development.”
He also noted that the evidence also underline very strongly that poor educational attainment for girls, under age marriage and under age child bearing is not a northern or religious based problem but a national problem.
“The fact that Ebonyi state, for instance scores worse than some northern states on the percentage of girls in secondary school, or that Bayelsa where President Goodluck Jonathan was previously Governor scores worse than some northern states on both under age marriage and under age child bearing is evidence of this,” Sankore added.
He said danger is not completely averted, even in the best performing states.
“Even in the best performing states there is still cause for concern.  Edo and Ekiti states with the best secondary school attendance for girls still have up to 16 percent of girls not in secondary education, whereas Lagos, Ekiti and Imo states with the least number of under-age girls forced into marriage still have over one percent of girls in this terrible condition of forced domestic work, and sexual abuse,” Sankore disclosed.
He also pointed out the case of Imo, Abia, Abuja, Enugu and Edo with the least cases of under age child bearing that still have between 0.8 percent and almost six percent of underage girls giving birth as sore points in Nigeria’s development strides.
“We need to see urgent action from the President, Governors, National and State House of Assembly on girls education, health, human and social development,” he said, adding also that there would be a national emergency if 65 percent of teenage boys were forced into underage marriage with women old enough to be their grandmothers as in the worst performing state.
“If 66 per cent of teenage boys were forced into fathering children for older women as in the worst performing state, there would be a national emergency. The hypocrisy on gender equality and women’s development needs to end now,” Sankore said.
At a Kaduna based NGO the Girl Child Concerns GCC where we work to promote girl child education.  GCC chose to work directly with young school girls from various public schools in Kaduna on the International day of the girl. We organized a workshop to enable them to participate in the discussion on schools development.
During the working group sessions, we asked the girls to discuss and identify all things that could discourage girls from going to school and make recommendations on how to correct them. Some of issues identified are listed below:
Infrastructure:
−    Bad toilets: There are only few toilets in schools and most of them have been abandoned due to poor maintenance, mostly caused by lack of water in the school.
−Insufficient number of class room/furniture leading to overpopulation in classes and students can hardly concentrate.
– Poor medical services and facilities in the school clinic
–        Dormitories are usually overpopulated with two students sleeping on a single bed.
-Laboratories and libraries are not well equipped and so practical methods of learning are inadequate. Theory alone cannot deliver the message properly.
−Cost of going to school: schools are not totally free, there are some hidden charges  which most of the poor families cannot afford,  apart from the books parents are supposed to  are meant to buy.  
−There is no proper fencing and security in schools especially boarding houses. The issue of rape is alarming and not properly addressed even when reported.
−Teaching methods are not interesting and interactive. Modern teaching methods are not applied by teachers
−    Teachers poor attitude to work
−    Unqualified teachers
−    Lack of adequate female teachers
−    Discrimination by teachers by giving preferential treatment to some students.
The GCC Umma Iliyasu Mohammed said ‘it is crucial that we continue to talk on the importance of girl’s secondary education as evidence shows the overwhelming positive economic and social benefits for girls and their families if she completes a qualified secondary school.
If schools are made conducive, safe and totally free more girls will remain in school and age of marriage will be delayed. The percentage of girls who are married before 18 years will invariably reduce and onset of childbearing age will also decrease. This will improve the health of tomorrow’s mothers and empower them to make useful contributions to national development.