Access to basic education for girls: The nigerian experience

Abstract

This chapter examines the issue of access for females or girls to basic education in Nigeria, particularly with reference to the Jomtien (1990) declaration and other subsequent national and global efforts to give girls access to basic education. The data presented in the context of these efforts show a wide disparity between the male and female child access to basic education in Nigeria. Our intention here is to articulate Nigeria's current position on girls' access to basic education. Our analysis shows that, despite the efforts, resources, and time spent, there still exists a considerable gap between the North and the South with respect to giving girls access to basic education. No development strategy is better than one that involves women as central players. Such a strategy has immediate benefits for nutrition, health, savings, and reinvestment at the family, community, and, ultimately, national levels. In other words, educating girls is a social development policy that works. "It is long-term investment that yields an exceptionally high return" (Annan, 2002). Education has been universally recognized as the key to sustainable development and the enhancement of human welfare. The World Bank (2003) observed that Education is development, it creates choices and opportunities for people, reduces the twin burden of poverty and diseases, and gives a stronger voice to society. For nations, it creates a dynamic workforce and well informed citizens able to compete and cooperate globally, opening doors to economic and social prosperity. It was in the realization of the invaluable role and impact of education locally and globally that the World Conference on Education for All (EFA) was convened in 1990 in Jomtien, Thailand, where the World Declaration on Education for All was adopted, and in 2000 in Dakar, Senegal, where the Framework for Action to Meet Basic Learning Needs was endorsed. The Framework for Action to Meet Basic Learning Needs emphasized the need for both quality in and access to basic education. It also set targets and timelines for achieving the strategies. These include eliminating gender disparities in primary and secondary education by 2005; ensuring that all children, particularly girls, have access to basic education, which must be free, compulsory, and high quality by 2005; achieving gender equality in education with a focus on ensuring girls' full and equal access to high quality basic education. © 2006 Springer. Printed in the Netherlands.