CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Education is a tool for the sustainable development of any economy (Oyitso & Olomukoro, 2012). In the last two decades, there have been agitations that women should be involved in ensuring the sustainable development of a country. Even as a research conducted shows that about two-third of women are illiterates and just about the same figure goes for females who are out of school. However, for women (females) to contribute towards achieving sustainable development, they must be given quality education.
Fortunately, females make up a greater percentage of Nigeria’s population, therefore in other for them to be involved in the development of the country, they need to be literate (UNESCO, 2002). This brings us to the reality that half of the population of a country (females) is discriminated or illiterates, sustainable development will be hampered. Educating females of a country is one of the ways of investing into the future of that country, tied to a saying that ‘if you train a woman, you have trained the nation’. Females will actively participate both nationally and internationally in the social, political, and economic development of the country if certain barriers are taken care of (Okojie, 2011). Based on the traditional beliefs of Nigerians, before now females were known to always be in the kitchen, thus discriminating them from participating in other spheres of the economy. Not minding this limitation, women still struggled participating in the economic sphere of the country, engaging more in agricultural activities than the men (Ponte, 2006). This discrimination meted on the female folk has made them poor thereby depriving them of education, training and health services. A very obvious discrimination against women is the area of education and it is because they do not have access to education. It has been proven that women can achieve socio-economic development of the nation through sound education and empowerment (Adeniran, 2009). It is against this background that in recent times efforts have been made to improve female education in Nigeria. Buttress to say are campaigns carried out by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) south and north parts of Nigeria to promote female education; and to encourage state governments in the north to fund female education. One of the positive effects of this campaign is the establishment of girls’ schools across the country.
Despite all these meaningful measures, female education still lacks behind compared to males’ education. A lot of women have not been well empowered to contribute to national development, they are still traumatized and that is why out of 1.2 billion around the globe living in abject poverty, about 70% are women (Onwubiko, 2012). Poverty for these women does not only mean their basic needs are not met but that their voices are not heard, opportunities denied, and their rights are trampled upon.
The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) took a step further in one of its goals to reiterate how essential women education is through empowering women. The National Policy on women was adopted in 2000 in Nigeria in other to enhance the involvement of females in the social and political arena of the country, to achieve national development (Olomukoro, 2012). However, not minding that the Nigerian culture plays a part in discouraging female education, the presence of civilization (formal education) is helping to close the vacuum created, in other to join the workforce of the country.
This study on female education in Nigeria: the key to development is coming on the hills of stressing how important female education is to the sustainable development of Nigeria.
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
Over twenty decades now, the issue of female education has always been a topical issue both in the national and international scene. There are certain barriers to this effect, and they include:
Poverty and economic issues: with the high level of poverty in Nigeria, female children are usually sent to hawk in other to provide the basic needs of the family.
Cultural and religious biases: Many Nigerian parents are of the notion that it is waste of resources to enroll females in schools and so the males should be enrolled. Also, some Islamic parents misinterpret the tenet of lslam as regards female education. Early Marriage and
Teenage Pregnancy: Due to the fact that many parents belief education is not for their female children, they give them away in early marriage. In addition, teenage pregnancy amongst females makes them drop out from school.
These are some of the problems associated with female education in Nigeria.
1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The major objective of this study is Female Education in Nigeria: the Key to Development.
Other specific objectives include:
a) To examine the significant relationship between female education and Nigeria’s GDP.
b) To identify the challenges of female education in Nigeria.
c) To suggest ways of improving female education in Nigeria.
d) To examine how well the media has contributed in promoting female education in Nigeria.
e) To examine the percentage of females in Nigeria who are educated.