CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
In its broadest sense, education is a way of imparting knowledge, skills, and habits to a group of people through teaching, training, research, or just autodictatism (Mbilingi, 1991). One technique for encouraging social and economic growth is to educate girls (World Bank, 2009).
In response to the rising prevalence of illiteracy among children in emerging countries, the Federal Republic of Nigeria’s government established the girl-child education and enrollment initiative. This, on the other hand, became a source of concern for development advocates aiming to include women in the national development process. Given that Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, has a high proportion of illiterate women, particularly in the north, where socioeconomic, religious, parental education levels, and cultural traditions all conspire against women’s education,
In Nigeria’s history of girl-child education, the female child has been marginalized in terms of school enrollment, attendance, completion, and progression to higher education, notably in the northern section of the country.
Despite Nigeria’s policy of free education at all levels, access to education for all, particularly female children and women, remains elusive. Female literacy rates are lower than male literacy rates in some Nigerian administrative states, such as Sokoto and Zamfara. Despite the fact that education is acknowledged as a fundamental human right necessary for the attainment of human dignity, various factors have been identified as contributing to females’ lower attendance in schools when compared to boys, according to Magaji (2010). Poverty, she claims, is one of these difficulties. Of course, these factors impede women’s advancement and development in society. Nigeria’s initiatives to support girl child education were recognized by UNESCO in 2005. Universal Primary Education (1976); the National Policy on Education (NPE) (1977); the lowering of cut-off points for admission of girls to female secondary schools; scholarships for Science, Technology, and Mathematics Education (STME); the promulgation of an edict prohibiting the withdrawal of girls from school for marriage; the production of a blueprint for women’s education by the Federal Ministry of Education (1987); and the devolution of power to the Federal Ministry of Education (1988). Nonetheless, many females, particularly in northern Nigeria (Federal Ministry of Education), do not attend school or have dropped out (1987; 1988)
STATEMENT OF PROBLEM
Access to basic education for women in Nigeria has remained limited, particularly in the northern states. The high female dropout rate in secondary school has resulted in concerns that can be investigated on a social as well as an individual level (Magaji, 2013). On a social level, an illiterate and uneducated female generation will have a severe impact on society’s economic, religious, educational, and socio-political aspects.
The study’s main focus is on the sociocultural, economic, religious, and parental education levels as determinants of girl child enrolment in female secondary schools in Zamfara state. The study is expected to take a global approach to this issue (socioeconomic, cultural, religious, and parental education levels), with a focus on Zamfara state and the northern region.
OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The overall goal of this research is to look into the impact of kids’ school location on their academic achievement. As a result, the research will be focused on the following precise goals:
Determine whether the socioeconomic situation of a household influences the enrollment of a girl kid in secondary school in Zamfara state.
Determine whether a parent’s educational history has an impact on a girl’s enrollment in secondary school in Zamfara state.
Determine whether religious factors influence the enrolment of girl children in secondary school in Zamfara.
Determine whether the cultural background of a household influences the enrolment of a girl kid in secondary school in Zamfara state.
RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS
During the course of this research, the following statements will be validated:
H01: In Zamfara state, there is no significant relationship between family socioeconomic position and girl child enrolment in secondary school.
H02: In Zamfara state, there is no substantial relationship between parents’ educational backgrounds and their daughters’ enrollment in secondary school.
H03: In Zamfara state, there is no significant relationship between religious characteristics and girl child enrolment in secondary school.
H04: In Zamfara state, there is no significant relationship between family cultural background and girl child enrolment in secondary school.
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
This study will benefit female students, parents, and the government, principals, and school administrators on the development and improvement of female enrolment in schools and standardization in Zamfara state and Northern Nigeria educational system, thereby erasing all previous beliefs about educating the girl-child and the government, principals, and school administrators on the development and improvement of female enrolment in schools and standardization in Zamfara state and Northern Nigeria educational system.
It will serve as a resource for decision-makers and educational planners seeking to understand the socio-cultural, economic, and religious issues influencing the enrolment of girls in Sokoto’s public schools.
It would make governments and other state agencies responsible for children’s education more gender sensitive, ensuring gender enrolment in admissions, scholarship awards, and recruitment into various levels and positions.
SCOPE OF THE STUDY
This study is limited to the determinants of girl-child enrolment in some selected female secondary schools in Zamfara state, as well as factors such as economic factors, religious factors, and socio-cultural factors, as well as the parent’s educational level, which all influence girl-child enrolment in Zamfara state’s secondary schools. Only public female secondary schools were included in the study.
LIMITATION OF THE STUDY
The researcher ran into some minor roadblocks while conducting the research, as with any human endeavor. Insufficient funds hamper the researcher’s efficiency in locating relevant materials, literature, or information, as well as in the data collection process, which is why the researcher chose a small sample size. Furthermore, the researcher was working on this study while also doing other academic work. As a result, the time spent on research will be cut in half.
DEFINITION OF TERMS
Enrolment: This is the number of students admitted to schools in the Sokoto metropolitan.
Girl-child: a female between the ages of fourteen (14) and twenty (20). These are typically the ages of girls who should be in secondary school.
Female secondary school: This is a location where ladies or girls’ children come together to learn and enroll in school.
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