Why we should reduce the emphasis on Girl Child Education.
I DON’T STAND FOR GIRLS – they are not less privileged. Note: I am not against Women Empowerment Programs or Skill Acquisition Centres.
The more you keep talking about things like Girl Child Education, Educate the Girl child, I stand for Girls, it begins to create an unnecessary consciousness that makes it look like girls haven’t seen the four walls of a school, or that they are dominated, maltreated and enslaved by men in the society – which is a false stereotype.
One may say that I probably will not be in support of the Girl Child Education program because I schooled in the Western part of the country. But, NO! Girls go to school almost everywhere in the country, they are not isolated. I have some Muslim friends who schooled at the North and they are well enlightened.
Where I hail from and other places I have lived, girls go to school. If they do not, I wonder how I found myself in the university sitting side-by-side with other female students in a long bench for about 8 people. Infact, the ratio of the population of girls to boys in school is 50 : 50 and in most cases higher than that of boys. (source :Leads school 2013 SS3 statistics).
A very practical instance should be that, if girls do not go to school, how come 276 female students were kidnapped on the night of 14-15 April 2014 in a government Secondary School in Chibok, Borno State, Nigeria? The Boko Haram’s wouldn’t have seen any girl if truly they are not schooling. But, they successfully kidnapped 276 girls – that’s such a huge number!
While growing up, I never for one day realize that people were advocating for girl child education because it was inevident and my parents were much concerned about the entire family’s education. I understand that, there might be a minute percentage of girls and boys that don’t go to school. But that’s how the society is, not everyone is endowed with wealth. There will still be illiterate boys and girls existing side-by-side boys and girls who have the resources to go to school, yet, we combine our force through different ways.
More so, I accept that in some customs and traditions, girls aren’t allowed to go to school even when the resources are available because it is seen as a waste of time, due to the fact that they will soon be taken away through marriage. In the same vein, boys aren’t also allowed to go to school in some places because it is considered as a waste of precious time. Rather, they are encouraged to venture into businesses through the Master-servant relationship which is predominant among the Igbos – I also made mention of that here. So, these are cultures of people that will never be taken away and I do not see anything wrong in that.
In terms of academic excellence, do you know that girls sometimes do better than the boys? A recent example is that of the best student in the just concluded 2016 West African Examination Council (WAEC) – a 17 year old Abubakar Sani from Kano State made straight 9 A’s. You can read about her by clicking here.
Let’s try to emphasize more on venturing into undertakings that will bring about sustainable development in our country.
Don’t be swayed away by some of these activities. Stay Positive
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