Factors Influencing Girl Child Education in Akwa Ibom State Identified 

Okon Bassey in Uyo 

Self-esteem, teenage pregnancy, early marriage, poverty, parental beliefs, family dynamics and parent’s education level have been identified as factors that influence Girl Child Education in Akwa Ibom State.

Other factors include cultural beliefs, community conflicts, child trafficking, transportation, economy, inadequate teachers, security, teaching approach, educational and WASH facilities, among others.

A survey conducted in the state and made available to journalists in the state weekend also indicated that out of the 15,200 children that are out of school at the secondary stage in the state at least 14,200 were girls.

The report from the survey, showed that the figure which represent 56% of total school drop outs at the secondary school level in the state attributed the abnormally to poverty, labour needs, early pregnancy, period poverty, child marriage and pregnancy.

The study conducted by an NGO, OneLife Initiative with support from Malala Fund presented in Uyo by its Executive Director Mr. Sola Fagorusi showed that 451 public and private secondary schools operate in the state with an estimated 500,000 enrollment.

According to the report, out of the 8,400 out of school children at the junior secondary level, 4,600 were girls while at the senior secondary level, girls make up 9,600 out of the 16,800 children out of school.

“At the JSS level out of school girls are disproportionately concentrated in rural and riverine LGAs where barriers like poverty early pregnancy, period poverty are highest while drop out at the SSS stage is strongly linked to cost, child marriage, pregnancy and geographic disadvantage.”

It noted that absenteeism in public schools often rise to 15% on any given day with a sharp drop out spike as girls move from JSS2 to JSS3 while at the SSS level the attrition become more dramatic with majority of the girls in rural areas never completing SSS3.

“The result of the survey showed that 79.4% of the students had a positive attitude towards girl child education. A vast majority, 98.1% were comfortable with girls going to school and 97.4% support girl child education. Only a small fraction, 11% prefer educating a male child over a female.

“Additionally, 95.4% of respondents would encourage a girl to attend school and 95% support equal educational opportunities for both males and females. 

“These findings also indicate a strong consensus among female students in favour of girl child education and gender equality in educational opportunities.”, the report stated.

It regretted that most secondary schools in the state lack structured, evidence-based sexuality education, leaving girls vulnerable to misinformation, early pregnancy and exploitation and recommended the introduction of “Second Chance” programmes that reflect flexible education weekend classes, mobile learning units or accelerated bridging for adolescent mothers and girls who dropped out.

“Absenteeism and drop outs spike during menstruation for girls unable to access sanitary materials. There is need to institutionalize the provision of reusable sanitary pads, hygiene education and dignity kits through consistent in-school distribution drives, moving beyond one-off events.

“Although Akwa Ibom has increased education budgets nominally, dedicated funding for girls’ programmes is lacking. CSOs can begin to advocate for a gender responsive education budget, tracking and publishing fund flows to programmes that benefit girls directly.

“NGOs can form budget tracking coalitions, co-host public fora and support the state with data on gaps and best practice allocation.

“Barriers like cultural stigma, witchcraft accusations and early marriage persist in rural and riverine settings. Our recommendation is for the government to launch a behavioural change campaign using respected community figures and storytellers. Facilitate training workshops for chiefs, faith leaders and village women to advocate for girls’ safety and inclusion.

“The government and other stakeholders need to take responsibility for understanding models that ensure local governments like Esit Eket, Ibeno, ONNA, Eastern Obollo and Essien Udim continue to display excellent performances in terminal external examinations”, the report stressed