Factors Affecting Girl Child Education
Factors Affecting Girl Child Education
Factors Affecting Girl Child Education
The main purpose of this research paper is to understand the factors that affect the girl
child education. Improvement in the education and literacy skills of the girls are primarily
based upon factors such as, socio-economic, socio-cultural, educational levels of the parents
and distance from school. These factors affect the participation of girls in schools and in
enhancing their educational skills and abilities. There are number of social, economic,
familial, cultural and educational issues that prove to be impediments within the course of
acquisition of education by the girls and compel them to drop out. The main areas that have
been taken into account in this research paper are, deprivation of the girl child education,
factors affecting female participation in education, factors leading to drop out of girls from
schools, factors affecting the completion of education by girls, child labour, child abuse, child
marriage, female foeticide and female infanticide, and measures to promote girl child
education.
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Introduction
Education is an important foundation to improve the status of women and has also
and widening access to education, especially basic education, is not only an objective in itself
but also accelerates social and economic advancement. The evidence is out: nations that
invest in girls‟ education enhance economic productivity and growth. In fact, the World Bank
has stated that there is no investment more effective for achieving development goals than
educating girls.
The problems of the girl child education begin from home. It is at this level in the
community that girls are educated in a different manner as compared to boys. The parents,
siblings, relatives and even the neighbours, identify girls to be fundamentally different from
boys. They possess this viewpoint that boys are the assets of the family, they will bring
wealth and enhance the reputation of their families, if they are provided education. Though
this viewpoint is not correct that, boys are more intelligent, proficient, skilled and responsible
and therefore more important within the society as compared to girls. Although both girls and
boys are brought up together at home and within the community. Though there are still
restrictions imposed upon girls and they are forced to grow up differently in the community,
where there is implementation of certain restrictive practices. They are not given the same
opportunities as boys to prove their potentials and enhance their skills. As a result, girls grow
up believing that they are grossly inferior to boys just because they are girls. As gender bias
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prevails within the society, girl child education will continue to experience social
Moreover, special attention had been paid to women and girls in other goals; for
example, goal two stipulates that by 2015, all children, especially girls in difficult
circumstances and those belonging to ethnic minorities will have access to complete free and
education, parents are required to provide them adequate teaching and learning facilities,
protect them against societal problems, prohibit child marriage, practices of female foeticide,
female infanticide, and provide financial assistance clothing and proper nutrition (Ouma,
2013). The individuals need to formulate this viewpoint that girls should be sent to schools
and acquire education. They should create a pleasant environment within the house to
promote education and learning. Education is regarded as an investment, whose returns are
valued throughout the lives of the individuals. Through education, people acquire
information, awareness, skills and attitudes essential for sustainable economic growth and
general development. In the academic field, whatever they learn, they make use of it
Definition of Terms
abilities and habits of a group of people are transported from one generation to the next
through teaching training, research or simply through auto-dictatism. Education for the girls
is one of the principles that track ways to promote social and economic development.
According to EFA global observing report 2003-04, increasing the educational level of girls
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has an encouraging influence upon economic growth. Since 2002, United Nations
Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the global community have
been striving to attain the Dakar Education For All (EFA) goals. Taking into consideration
the fact that education for girls and women is a crucial preference, the Darker Framework for
Action contained a time-bound goal; Goal five is dedicated explicitly to gender parity and
The term, gender may be defined as the socially learned pattern of behaviour and
females within the society. Such performance and conduct is learnt through socialization in
the society and in school. This socialization has affected the girl child in terms of access to
education, achievement and accomplishment. The girls are made to feel lower, their position
is downgraded as and they are considered as less important than boys. Girls will therefore,
not be interested and enthusiastic to go for those things that are believed to be for boys. They
will not endeavour to outperform the boys in anything including education in case they get
ex-communicated within the society because of going against the norms (Gitonga, 2009).
Girls want equal rights and opportunities, they also possess the aspiration of getting
enrolled in educational institutions and enhance their skills and abilities. In the present
existence, they aspire to achieve empowerment opportunities. There have been practices of
child marriage, female foeticide, and female infanticide, which prove to be impediments
within the course of progression and development of the girl child. In rural areas, people
possess this viewpoint that girls are the liabilities, they are meant to learn only the
implementation of the household chores. They are mostly trained regarding the performance
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of the household chores, such as, preparation of meals, cleaning, fetching water, rearing of
livestock, sewing, embroidery, child development and looking after the needs and
requirements of the elderly and other members of the household. Due to these factors, they
The staying of girls within the house and when they are not encouraged to go out of
their homes and communicate with the outside world, have an unfavourable effect upon their
mind-sets. These girls are usually derided, ridiculed and laughed at and in some cases, they
are abused and mistreated. These types of experiences that they undergo make them feel
vulnerable and apprehensive, they experience problems in speaking out for themselves and in
enhancing their knowledge, skills and aptitude. Previous research in the field of education has
made revelation to the effect that for many years, the girl child has been deprived of her right
to appropriate education through gender socialization. The Boys are treated with more self-
esteem and momentousness and are given most of the opportunities in education. Family
funds will be geared towards education of boys. Where the prevalence of the conditions of
poverty leads to scarcity of resources within the family. The girl children are sent home to
work, so as to assist the parents in raising funds to educate their brothers. This situation
The factors that affect the participation of females in education have been stated as
institutional provision, even at primary level transmits straight to the problems of physical
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access, which unfavourably affects girls more than boys. There is a complete and deep urban
and rural dichotomy which favours towns and cities, especially in respect of secondary school
and especially single gender, provision for girls, forms of transportation and migration affects
educational provision and take up, again generally disadvantaging females and in some cases
intense physical difficulties, such as inundating and other threats. The influence of these
factors can only be overcome by more refined and multivariate spatial analysis of educational
Socio-Cultural - A major restraint to the female take up and follow through of educational
opportunities, even when these are available is a near universal essential cultural bias in
favour of males. The common functioning of the patriarchal systems of social organisation,
of customary early marriage, of the incidence of early pregnancy, in and out of marriage, of
weightier domestic and subsistence duties of females, especially in rural areas, a usually
lower regard for the value of female life, all combine, though differentially in each case, to
negatively affect the participation of girls and women in formal education. In addition, there
may be problems of seclusion and security in some areas. Such long standing restraints result
in the scarcity of female role models that could challenge the traditional ones that is clearly
Health - In general the effect of poverty and malnutrition on the health of school age children
is hard on girls than boys. Boys may get favoured feeding, while girls, who are required to
carry out the domestic responsibilities are more likely to be undernourished. Even if they go
to school, this unfavourably affects their performance and the retention rate. Health problems
associated with pregnancy, especially for adolescent girls, have a negative effect, as do the
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increasing trends of sexual activity in younger generations, where these occur. Problems
associated with family size and family planning is prevalent in relation to possible
participation in education and imply the need for health education at the school level. Girls
Economic – The economic factor is most influential in affecting the participation of girls in
education. Finances are imperative areas, especially in higher education. Due to lack of
finances, capable and diligent students are required to give up their aspirations of pursuing
higher education. Parents find it difficult to pay for not only the education of their children,
but also in making provision of books, stationary, uniforms, clothing, and other materials.
education of girls is inefficient. The main reason being, parents possess this viewpoint that if
the girls will get educated, it would be beneficial to the family in which they marry, rather
Educational – The educational factors that affect the participation of females in education
skilled and competent teachers. Within rural areas, the main problem is shortage of teachers.
Parents usually feel hesitant in sending their daughters to schools, when there are not any
female teachers. They want them to learn only from female teachers. The facilities required
for the accommodation of teachers are absent or inadequate. The organisation of schooling in
terms of day to day and seasonal necessities of local economies usually renders it
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education is weak and schemes open to the girls in this field are primarily beneficial. There is
prejudice in support of males. The fact, most religious specialists and leaders are males and
this makes for an authoritative image in favour of boys, and it would be a co-operative move,
if religious leaders of all trusts, beliefs and denominations were to speak out powerfully in
and the elimination of gender bias from texts and other materials. The political will to carry
these, though seems to be weak in the face of severe economic constraints. In the present
existence, there has been formulation of laws and policies that girls should be regarded as
equal, they should be encouraged towards acquisition of education and be given equal rights
and opportunities. There should not be any type of discrimination between girls and boys and
they should be equally considered with regards to employment opportunities, pay, enrolment
The factors that lead to drop out of girls from schools have been classified into four
categories, these are, economic factors, household level factors, school level factors and
cultural factors. They have been stated as follows: (Shahidul, & Zehadul Karim, 2015).
i. Economic Factors
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Parental Investment – The investment of parents mostly in rural areas become gender
biased. They are altruistic to the gender of their children and do not invest in their education
on an equal basis. They prefer to get their sons educated more as compared to girls. The
parents possess this viewpoint that if the sons get educated, they will bring wealth and
prosperity for the families and take care of their well-being. Parental gender bias investment
particularly takes place, when parents belong to low income groups, causing girls to leave
school early.
Schooling Costs – Direct and indirect schooling costs are important factors for the education
of the girls. Schooling costs especially, the school fees, are a fundamental reason for leading
to early drop-out of girls from schools. Schooling costs are sometimes connected to the
gender of the children, as parents are sometimes getting disinclined to pay the school fees and
also in meeting other expenses, such as, books, stationary, uniforms, transportation and so
forth of their daughters. It becomes difficult for the parents to meet the schooling costs, when
Household Work – Within the household, girls are meant to perform more work as
compared to boys. Besides, the tasks such as preparation of meals, cleaning, washing,
fetching water etc. they are required to take care of their younger siblings, while their parents
go to work. In the implementation of the household tasks, girls get compelled to drop out of
schools. It becomes difficult for them to take out time for studies due to domestic work, as a
result, they are unable to perform well academically and eventually give up their studies.
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Female Involvement in Household Chores – When the households are headed by females,
then there is a decline in the drop out of girls. In the household's decision-making process, the
drop-out rate of girls has decreased. Though female headship ultimately proves to be
advantageous to the girls, studies in some cases, show debatable results. This is because,
many studies found that single female headed households experience larger financial and
time constraints than two-parent households in general, which may influence differently on
have higher educational attainment, while children of widows are more expected to get
Extra-Curricular Activities – There were differences in the participation of girls and boys
in extra-curricular activities. Girls are usually less participative as compared to boys. The
main reason that led to a lower rate of participation amongst the girls than boys are lack of
facilities in schools. The attire that students were supposed to wear in participation in sports
and outdoor games, were suitable to males, hence, there were large differences in the
Female Teachers in Schools – The individuals, who belong to rural communities and
possess traditional viewpoints, prefer that their girls should only get educated from female
teachers. There is shortage of female teachers in schools, mainly in rural areas, hence, this is
an impediment within the course of acquisition of education and leads to drop out of girls.
They mostly feel comfortable in the presence of female teachers and would be able to
communicate effectively with them regarding their academic as well as other problems.
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Absenteeism – The rate of absenteeism has a negative impact on the drop-out of girls from
schools. Girls are at a larger risk of absenteeism, reiteration and drop-out, and have lower
educational achievement than boys in the upper primary school. There are some causes for
girls' drop-out because of absenteeism. For instance, teenage pregnancy amongst girls is
commonly associated with frequent absence from school originally, then permanent and or
temporary drop-out. The increase in the drop out of girls get more likely to increase, because
impact on the drop-out of girls. This is an indication of insecurity of girls and they will feel
vulnerable in attending schools due to these facilities. Lack of facilities and poor hygiene
affect both girls and boys, sanitation in schools has a strong negative influence on girls.
Parents expect safe and separate sanitation for their daughters in schools. Girls need to have
separate and adequate facilities in school. The lack of proper facilities and civic amenities are
barriers within the course of their acquisition of education and they are required to drop out
of schools.
Teacher’s Attitude – In order to pursue education, it is vital for the teachers to possess
efficient knowledge, information and teaching skills. Besides these, they should have a
pleasant attitude and an approachable nature. Strict and harsh attitude on the part of the
teachers, compel the students to drop out, before their educational skills get honed. There
have been cases, when teachers tend to favour boys more as compared to girls and this makes
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School Distance – The distance of schools from home, costs and transportation problems are
the primary factors that lead to drop-out of girls from schools. Parents are reluctant to send
their girls to long distances and they feel vulnerable regarding sexual harassment. When girls
and their parents feel that it is not safe to travel at a distance, then girls normally drop out or
Low Academic Performance – When students are not able to understand the academic
concepts in an effectual manner and do not perform well in studies, then the ultimate outcome
is school drop-out. Deprived academic performance does not generate pleasant attitude on the
part of the teachers and they are normally dissatisfied with these students. When girls do not
perform well academically and there is lack of understanding and awareness, then they
Early Marriage – Early marriage of girls is the primary factor that lead to discontinuation of
education. There have been cases, when girls get married within the course of their
acquisition of education. Marriage imposes numerous responsibilities on girls and they do not
find time to attend schools. In the household of the parents, they may attend schools, but as
they get married and go to another home, they eventually have to drop out of schools.
Cultural Beliefs – Cultural norms and beliefs prove to be restraints upon the acquisition of
education. The older individuals mainly possess this viewpoint that girls should be trained
regarding the household management and in taking care of the needs and requirements of the
family members. Education and academic learning is not meant for them, as they will not be
able to utilize their education, skills and abilities in an effective manner in any area.
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Factors Affecting the Completion of Girls/Women Education in Northern Nigeria
The factors that prove to be impediments in the completion of education by girls have
Gender – The rates of school drop-out were high amongst girls as compared to boys. The
boys were 1.8 times more likely to complete their education than girls. Even after controlling
for variables related to individual characteristics. The profound qualitative research has been
carried out by the Young Lives team, it takes into consideration, various factors that influence
girls’ progress through secondary education, including familial, societal and educational
concerns, such as safety concerns related to travelling to school, and the anticipation that girls
will support the family in domestic chores or will work to increase household income.
Parental Education - Levels of parental education are vital elements of children completing
secondary education. Children, whose fathers have completed secondary school and above
are 2.1 times more likely to complete schooling as compared to children whose fathers had
less or no education. The education of the mothers, did not have an effect upon the education
paternal education. The significance of parental education encourages questions about how
policy-makers can support parents with lower levels of education or no education to provide
Early Literacy – The early literacy skills, such as the ability to read words and sentences
more effortlessly at the age of eight, means a child is 1.7 times more likely to complete
secondary school than children who faced problems in reading, writing and in solving
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numerical problems. Similarly, children who depicted better writing skills at the age of eight
were 3.3 times more likely to progress than children, who were not able to write without
mistakes. Clearly this suggests that children’s efficacious change through secondary
education begins with operative learning in pre-schools and early primary, where the
capabilities to become successful in the performance of the tasks. This fact emerges in the
analysis as another important factor of secondary school completion. Children with high self-
efficacy were 1.6 times more expected to complete secondary education. This is not
unanticipated since self-efficacy affects students’ motivation to learn and their determination
in learning new and difficult concepts. This suggests, it is important to understand how self-
Pressures on children to work – Children, who did not spend time on domestic chores at the
age of 12, were 3.3 times more likely to complete secondary school than children who did
three or more hours of domestic work per day. When children are pressurised to carry out the
household chores, they normally have problems in finding time for their studies. Similarly,
children who did not participate in paid work at the age of 12 were 2.2 times more likely to
complete secondary education than those children who participated in paid work. For a child,
who is below 14 years of age, it becomes difficult to take out time for studies and go to work
simultaneously.
and traditional rulers have a major role to play in leading the awareness and enlightenment
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campaigns on not only the importance of western education for the girl child but also on the
need to remove various cultural and religious misconceptions that have had a negative
influence upon the education of girl children. It is necessary to enlighten the mind-sets of the
parents to encourage their girls to acquire education. They should not put any type of pressure
on them to get engaged in paid jobs or performance of the household chores. It is the major
benefit of education to make the girls self-reliant and help them to secure a better future.
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Measures to Promote Girl Child Education in Northern Nigeria
The measures to promote the education of girl child have been stated as follows:
School Information Campaign (SIC) - The School Information Campaign (SIC) is regarded
as an entry point into the schools. It serves as the primary mechanism of collecting vital
information to formulate consistent and reliable data as a standard for the schools.
Information collected has to do with matters like school infrastructure, facilities, student
teacher ratio, attendance, and so forth. Thus, SIC recognizes important needs and
requirements of the schools. The main purpose of SIC is to look into the areas that need
improvement, so that education and learning of the children can take place in a productive
manner.
communities are involved and participate in getting the out of school girls enrolled in
schools. The plans cover issues of infrastructure and quality improvement within the schools.
In order to increase the enrolment of girls, it is vital to ensure that there is availability of all
the essential infrastructure and facilities to facilitate their learning and education.
Development of Life Skills for Girl Children – Besides academic concepts, the
matters relating to their development, growth, building confidence, capacity, leadership and
self-esteem. World Health Organization (WHO) has identified ten life skills and these are,
creative thinking, interpersonal relationship skills, coping with stress, coping with emotions
and empathy. These skills are essential to carry out various types of daily life activities and
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functions in an efficient manner. Lack of these skills impose detrimental effects upon the
individuals.
Creative learning and teaching techniques (CLT) for teachers - The project aims at
training DIET members in creative learning and teaching techniques. Subsequently, the DIET
will be responsible to train a minimum of one teacher from the identified five hundred
schools in the methodology to make improvements in the teaching and learning processes in
schools. The usage of innovative teaching and learning processes and instructional methods
will not only encourage the enrolment of girls in schools, but they will generate enthusiasm
and motivation towards learning. These techniques will support the students in the
and facilities in schools are imperative to promote learning amongst girls. These are,
and projectors, provision of electricity in schools, such as, heating and cooling equipment in
accordance to the weather conditions, tree plantations in the school compound, construction
of kitchen for the preparation of mid-day meals, procurement of utensils for mid-day meals,
enrolment of girls, who have either dropped out or have never been to school before, into
bridge course camps, recruitment of more teachers in a single teacher school or where there is
Creative Learning and Teaching Techniques (CLT) - Creative learning and teaching
techniques are an essential part of EGG project model, as these have the potential to enhance
learning levels of children. It is vital to ensure that teachers integrate innovative techniques
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and practices into the classroom. The CLT is aimed at classroom processes, which are girl
child friendly and also child centric. The emphasis is put on the usage of augmented learning
methods so that children can learn rapidly and at the same time, they are interesting and
pleasurable for them. Girl child friendly teaching and learning practices play an important
mind-sets of the students and arouse interest and enthusiasm towards learning. In schools,
include, drawing, painting, handicrafts, dance, music, sports, physical activities and so forth.
schools they are taught creative activities as well as sports. When proficient teachers, who
possess adequate knowledge and skills train the students, they enjoy learning and also
Financial Assistance – The girls who belong to marginalized, deprived and socio-
economically backward sections of the society, normally experience problems in funding for
their education. They normally face setbacks in getting enrolled in schools due to financial
problems, as tuition fee, books, stationary, uniforms, diet and nutrition, travel expenses, and
other expenses associated with learning. In Government schools, free education is provided to
the students, in these schools, there is normally provision of mid-day meals, so that students
do not have to worry about bringing their meals from home. The students are required to
provide themselves for their uniforms, books, stationary, school bags and travel expenses.
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There have been initiation of schemes to make provision of scholarships and financial
assistance to these students. When they obtain some form of financial assistance, they usually
assistance or any other form of help encourages the minority groups towards acquisition of
education.
Conclusion
Education has a major role to play in the social, economic and political aspects of
human development. It is also through the use of education that the environment has been
transformed into a better place to live in. There have been formulation of measures, policies
and rules to enhance the living conditions of the individuals. To improve rapid human
development, it is essential that one recognizes the significance of education. Education has
therefore become a basic human need. Basic education has for some time remained high in
the global structure for education. Its importance in economic and social development makes
it a basic right for every child, whether it is a boy or a girl. There are certain factors that
affect the education of girls, especially in rural areas and the ones belonging to deprived and
There are number of factors, such as, economic, social, familial, educational and
cultural that lead to barriers within the course of acquisition of education. In some cases,
these factors impose major effects, due to which girls do not obtain any opportunities to
acquire education, while on the other, they impose minor effects, which may hinder their
chores, but they should be educated and allowed access to empowerment opportunities.
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