Gender inequality in schooling among children and the implications for livelihood of farming households in Kwara State, Nigeria

Abstract

Despite several investments programmes by the Nigerian Government and development institutions over the years to bridge the gender gap in schooling among children and increase enrolment in schools, most children are still found outside the walls of the classroom especially in rural areas. This research assessed how inequality in gender as it regards schooling among children affects the income as an indicator of livelihood of farming households in Kwara state, Nigeria. A sampling technique comprising of three stages was used to randomly select 200 farming households in the study area. Data were collected using questionnaire and were analyzed using the Gini-coefficient and the Ordinary Least Square method. The result showed an overall gini-coefficient for gender inequality in schooling of 0.35, with the value for boys and girls at 0.35 and 0.49 respectively. Mother's education, age of the household heads, marital status, dependency ratio, farm size and the average time spent by the children on the farm were found to significantly influence children's access to schooling. While increase in schooling cost, average years of schooling of the children affects the farm income. It was thus recommended that parents should be sensitized on the future benefits of sending their children to school. More so, credits should be made more accessible to farming households. This might help in the establishment of mechanized farm system thus reducing the need for manual labour and improving the children's opportunities of schooling.