CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND
OF THE STUDY
Education is the process of becoming critic aware of
one’s reality in a manner that leads to affective action. An educated man or
woman understand his or her world well and deals with it effectively. Educated
men and women if they exist in sufficient number would not leave the
absurdities of the present world unchanged.
Edukugho (2002), noted that the
prosperity of a country depends not on the abundance of its revenue, the
strength of its fortifications, but on the number of its educated citizens.
According to United Nations Educational Science UNESCO (2005), in all countries
of the world, education is recognized as the cornerstone for sustainable
development. It is a fulcrum around which the quick development of economic,
political, sociological and human resources of any country revolve. The Nigeria’s
National Policy on education (1981) indicates that education is the greatest
investment that the nation can make for the quick development of its economic
and political activities.
Having recognized education as “an
instrument per – excellence for effective national development” as well as “a
dynamic instrument of change”, it is also the basis for the full promotion and
improvement of the status of individuals including girl child or woman.
Education empowers women by improving their living
standard. It is the starting point for women’s advancement in different human
Endeavour. It is the basic tool that should be giving to girl child in order to
fulfill her roles as full numbers of the society (Nairobi forward looking
strategies, 1995). In fact, the educational empowerment of Nigeria girl child
is the spring board to every other form of empowerment, political, social,
economic etc.
According to James (1998), if you
educate a man, you educate an individual, but if you educate a woman, you
educate a nation.
The term “early marriage” is used to
refer to both formal marriage and informal unions in which a girl lives with a
partner as if married before age of 18(UNIFPA (2006). Early marriage, also know
as child marriage also is defined as “any marriage carried out below the age of
18 years, before the girl is physically, physiologically, and psychologically
ready to shoulder the responsibilities of marriage and child bearing, child
marriage, on the other hand, involves either one or both spouses being children
and may take place with or without formal registration, and under civil,
religious or customary laws.
Education, as earlier stated, is not
only about live-hood and technical skills but more importantly provides social
and connectedness” or aptitude which enables one to access key resources to alleviate
poverty. By in treading with others, individuals acquire the social skills and
personal capacities needed to access resources and opportunity’s and to form
social networks for support and
assistance when required in the future. Educated woman are more likely to have
a say in decision-making regarding the size of their families and spacing of
their children. They are also likely to be more informed and knowledgeable
about contraception and the health care needs of their children. Adolescent
girls who marry outside their communities tend to lose close friendships they
had formed in their parental homes, and often become quiet and subdued. This
means that even where girls have developed social networks they are unable to
access them from their marital community.
While marriage dose not have to mean
that a girl’s education finishes, the attitudes of parents, schools and spouses
in many societies mean that it often does. Husbands of young wives are often
older men, who expect their wives to follow tradition, stay home and undertake
household and child-care duties. A girl may be unable to go against her
husband’s wishes and the husbands family may refuse to invest their scarce
resources in the wife’s continued schooling.
Early marriage stands in direct conflict
with the objectives of the millennium Development Goals (MDGs), (mathur 2003).
It threatens the achievement of the first six goals respectively, eradicating
extreme poverty and hunger: achieving universal primary education, promoting
gender equality and empowering women, reducing child mortality, improving
maternal health and combating HIV/ AIDS, malarial and other diseases (UN 2007).
When the relationship between age at marriage and development is examined, it
becomes clear that later marriage is preconditioned for the attainment of
desired development related goals. These include completion of school,
acquisition of training for employment, and attainment of the skills and
information related to the roles of citizen, family member, and consumer that
are part of a successful adult-hood, (mathur 2003 and UNICEF 2003).
Women are at the hearth of many
societies. Regardless of whether they are working or not, mothers are very
influential people in children’s lives. According to DFID (2005), educating girl
is one of the most important investments that a country can make in its own
future. Education has a profound effect on girls and women’s ability to claim
other rights and achieve status in society such as economic independence and
political representation. Having an education can make an enormous difference
to women’s chances of finding well paid, raising a healthy family and
preventing the spread of diseases such as HIV and AIDS.
UNICEF (1994) argues that it is not
only the girls that pay for early marriage but that society also pays.
Population pressure, health care costs and lost opportunities of human
development are just a few of the growing burdens that society shouldens
because of early marriage. Girls education is one of the means to address poverty
and development problem. With education girls are given the chance to choose
their own futures and not one chosen by their parents and guardian
Malhotra and mather (1997) argue
that there is a close link between delayed marriage and adult earning women’s
economic future and their ability to participation in and contribute in the
global economy are primary dependent on a rise in educational attainment, but
this is impossible when the girl married early. Women who marry at early age
are likely to find the sole focus of their lives, at the expense of development
in other areas such as formal education, and training for employment, work
experience and growth.
Early marriage can, therefore, be a
significant barrier for communities seeking to raise education levels and break
the cycles of poverty.
1.2 STATEMENT
OF THE PROBLEM
Early marriage can be a violation of children’s basic
right- to childhood, to an education, to good health and to make decisions
about their own lives. The physical, emotional and social effects of early
marriage are varied, but one of the most common outcomes is the withdrawal of
girls from formal education, marriage does not have to mean that a girl’s
education finishes, the attitudes of parents, schools and spouses in many
societies mean that it often does. Husbands of young wives are often older men,
who expect their wives to follow tradition, stay at home and undertake
household and childcare duties. The girl may be unable to go against her
husband’s wishes and the husband’s family may refuse to invest their scarce
resources in the wife’s continued schooling. Schools often have a policy of
refusing to allow married or pregnant girls or girls with babies to return.
They may believe that it will set a bad example to other pupils or that other
parents will be angry to see the school go against the traditional believe.
Even if they do permit girls to return, the school environment-rules,
time-tables and physical conditions- can make it too difficult for a girl to
attend school and perform her duties as wife and mother at the same time,
bullying and abuse by teachers, pupils and other parents can further reduce
girls’ self-confidence and sense of security, forcing than to give up on
schooling.
1.3 PURPOSE
OF THE STUDY
The main purpose of this study is to identify the
influence of early marriage on girl child educational achievement in Ikwo Local
Government Area in Ebonyi State
The
study sought to
1. Determine
the causes of early marriage in Ikwo local Government Area
2. Identify the effects of early marriage on girls’ education
in Ikwo Local Government Area.
3. Determine
the strategies for improving girls education in Ikwo Local Government Area.
1.4 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
* Girls
will benefit from this study by learning that education is the only key to
achieving greater goals in life, and this will help them in correcting the
entire imbalance that had existed in girls’ education.
* Parents
will benefit a great deal in this study by getting to learn that women
education is never a Waste, and that if you educate a man, you educate an
individual but if you educate a women you educate a family (i.e a nation), and
this will help. Change their attitudes and ignorance towards girls education.
* Government
both the federal, state and local levels will benefit greatly from this study
by realizing from this study that funds, higher access to education, poverty
alleviation programs should be made available for girls education in all
levels.
* Educators,
educational planners, the general public will benefit very well from this study
by learning that girls are in no way inferior to men, they will also benefit by
learning how to educate, guide and council girls in carriers, choices of
educational courses.
1.5 RESEARCH
QUESTIONS
The following research questions were designed to
guided the study:
1. What are
causes of early marriage in Ikwo Local Government Area.
3. What
are the effects of early marriage on girls educational achievements in Ikwo
Local Government Area?
4. What
are the strategies for improving girls education in Ikwo Local Government Area?
1.6 SCOPE OF THE STUDY
The study focused on the influence of early marriage
on girls educational achievement in Ikwo Local Government Area.