School age girls abandoned class for hawking in Alkaleri As Bauchi State Government struggles to create an enabling space for girl child education to thrive, cultural norms and economic pressure are forcing girls out of the classroom to pick up hawking to fend for themselves amid the Education Sector Plan that failed to address gender disparity. Despite numerous advocacies to encourage girl child education and billions of Naira being expended to bring down the menace of out-of-school children in Nigeria, kids in many families in some parts of Bauchi State are being abused on a daily basis, a menace that threatens learning outcome, retention, transition and completion due to lack of a functional Gender Responsive Education Sector Plan (GRESP), RAUF OYEWOLE reports.
On the ever busy Alkaleri-Gombe road at about 11:15am, under a scorching sun is a 14 years old Khadija (not real name), a primary five student in Alkaleri who chases vehicles at a deplorable portion of the road to sell sesame cake also called benin-seed, bambara nuts, groundnut and sugar cane.
Khadija has to chase vehicles on motion for about 300m persuading passengers to patronise her. Every morning, she collects some goods on credit from one of her friends, Yahanasu Muhammad who runs a larger nut business. She sells, makes gains and settles with Yahanasu who also sells the nuts.
“I'm in Primary five, I did not go to school because I need money to support my parents. I do this to help my mother. We are six from my mother and she cannot afford to cater for us all. If I gather about N5,000, I will return to school,” she said in a hurry to dismiss the discussion.
Yahanasu Muhammad who described herself as the leader of the sales girls at the Alkaleri checkpoint said she could count over 70 of them selling on the road between 8am and 4pm, daily. “I'm in primary six, I did not go to school today because I'm resting. I want to rest this week. By God's grace I will resume next week. I will give some of my goods to my friends to sell for me so that I can go to school,” she said.
The Guardian’s observation showed that street hawking is common among school age girls in Alkaleri, Toro and Darazo axis of Bauchi State. Also, visits to some selected schools in the State showed that there was apathy in resumption and enrollment during the new session.
Findings revealed that economic factors have pushed up the cost of transporting children to schools, particularly those who live kilometres away from catchment areas. Apart from hawking, a seasonal harvest is worsening the school enrollment and retention which is gravely threatening appropriate transitioning and completion.
Underage girls trading on Alkaleri-Gombe road...Photo: RAUF OYEWOLE Affirming these, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) Chief of Field Office, Bauchi, Dr. Nuzhat Rafique, while addressing the six emirs of Bauchi State, highlighted some of the obstacles that prevent consistent learning achievement, school attendance, timely enrolment, and completion. She said “some of these obstacles include inadequate evidence-based policy and planning, limited budget allocation, significant shortages of qualified teachers and classrooms, poor infrastructure, poor teachers' remuneration, cultural norms, health and safety worries, and dependence on children for income and household tasks.”
The situation calls for a concerted effort by the relevant stakeholders to address these challenges.
Measuring this claim, The Guardian’s visit to Central Primary School, Alkaleri, showed a sharp decline in attendance by about 49 percent. In junior secondary school (JSS1 A and B), there were only 10 students against an average 100 new enrolment yearly. In JSS 2 (A,B,C,D,E and F), with 200 registered students, only 100 were in attendance while 65 of 100 in JSS3 resumed school.
Habibah Ahmed, a JSS 3 student who lives in Kaniyaka Village about five kilometres away from Alkaleri where she attends school has put a stop in her education, pending her father's ability to be economically buoyant to transport her to school. “My father said he could no longer pay for daily transport from our village to Alkaleri. He has asked us to stop the school for now to help him on the farm. Sometimes we have to go and sell some petty stuff to eat.
The Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) Personnel Audit, 2018, estimated the number of out-of-school children in Bauchi to be 880,082 (239,310 females) for basic education level. The dropout rates exhibit variations based on social norms, socio-economic status, gender, and geographical parameters, according to UNICEF.
A father, Abubakar Duguri lives in Mansur Village of Alkaleri local government, hinged the withdrawal of his three girls from school on hardship caused by economic policies of the government. Duguri shared his inability to sponsor three girls simultaneously hence his decision to halt their attendance in school to generate more funds.
“Buying of uniforms, sanders, books and other writing materials have gone up for a peasant farmer like me to afford. The boys take up working on farms for people to raise some money but the girls sell things like ‘Awara’, ‘geda’, ‘gurjia’ and the like to support their mothers."
HawkingExpiring education sector plan not gender responsive
In 2022, Bauchi State, like other states, planned for its Education Sector. The plan, titled: ‘Bauchi State Education Strategic Operational Plan (SESOP 2022-2024)
which is expiring December this year did not clearly define its gender responsiveness apart from its move to domesticate the Gender Equity and Social Inclusion (GESI Policy) within the four years period.
Experts believe that gender issues in school contribute to the drop out of girls from schools. From stereotypes to cultural inhibition and social disadvantages on the part of girls.
A report by UNICEF title: “Education opportunities for girls in Nigeria –basic education” highlighted some obstacles hindering girls from attaining their potential to include; violations of girls’ right to education and increased risk of child marriage, early childbearing, gender-based violence and discrimination, and poor health outcomes for both girls and their children. Poor learning and skills development outcomes. Lack of skills for meaningful employment, and high unemployment rates, especially for girls with the lowest educational attainment.
It added 7.6 million girls are out-of-school in Nigeria: 3.9 million at the primary and 3.7 million at the junior secondary level.
For 16-year-old Amina (not real name), a JSS 2 student in Darazo local government area of the State, returning to school might be difficult with her six months old baby. Amina who has been selling Bambara nuts at the Military checkpoint, Darazo has had her toes crushed by a moving vehicle while transacting with passengers.
She narrated while sobbing: “It didn't occur to me that the soldiers had instructed the vehicle to pass for checks, I was trying to receive money from a buyer in the vehicle and the tyre matched my toes. I felt so pained that I could not walk home. I did all of these because my parents asked us to do it to assist in our education,” she said.
While selling the nuts, Amina got pregnant, the development that has compounded her situation. She lamented her experience in the community over perceptions on late marriage, saying that peer pressure and family decision were factors forming her decision to proceed with marriage even though she was ready.
“Spinsters who are determined to pursue their careers in this community are not being regarded or accorded respect the way married ladies do. I fell for this, since the majority of my friends are married and many are ready to,” she said.
Social norm: We must end domestic labour, street hawking among girls –DG SDGs
Mrs. Lydia Shehu is a retired Permanent Secretary and currently the Director General of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Bauchi, expressing dismay over the social norm which subjected girls to being fiddle role players in the community. Dismissing the acts, Shehu said that the goals 3, 4 and 5 provided for a “Good health and wellbeing, Quality Education and Gender Equality”.
“Overtime, there have been a lot of social norms that have impeded on the right and equal access of girls to education. Take for instance, goals three, four and five, we should not leave anyone behind. Educating a girl child is like educating a nation. Educating a girl child is more profitable than educating a male child –an educated girl child extends her knowledge to her children in upbringing.
“It is so sad that people give more preference to male children over girls. They ask girls to stay out-of-school, to hawk and sponsor the education of her male counterparts in school. It is time to educate our people more on the reasons they should educate girls like the boys.
“Families think that girls should not be part of decision making, in that case, they keep girls out of school to hawk on the streets, bring the profit home to sponsor her male siblings. This is an abuse on her part.”
Shehu called for a gender responsive education sector plan that will eliminate girl child hawking, domestic labour by the girl child, gender based violence and introduction of reproductive health education among others in Bauchi schools.
“Starting from our instructional materials, we must include in our plan to be gender responsive enough to stop the impression that a father is in parlour watching news or reading paper while the mother is in the kitchen or sweeping. This work is not specifically for any gender. While these are being done, the male child is being indoctrinated into believing that such things are for girls,” she said.
Multiple legislations, policies failed to address issues
Bauchi State has domesticated the Violence Against Person Prohibition (VAPP) and the Child Right Act. Also, implementation of the Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment (AGILE), Education for All (EFA), High Level Women Advocates, Girl-4-Girl and Education Drive Campaign led by the Emir of Bauchi have yielded little or no result as economic pressure have pull thousands of girls out-of-school to streets, picking hawking as option.
Barrister Elizabeth George who is the Executive Director, Child is Gold Foundation, said that the stereotype and the cultural norm are been indoctrinated into the young people as they grow to learn such things from their immediate families and the society.
“It is part of the things that we have been advocating for. Most of our school arrangements are not gender responsive, in most schools you see where boys are appointed as class representatives and may be a girl would only assist him. The government needs to include ways of eradicating these things from our school. Children learn by action –what they see.
“I know that there are existing laws that take care of gender inequality but these legislations are not perfect, we need to start to amend these laws.”
Section 15 of the Child Right Act provided that “(1) Every child has the right to free, compulsory and universal basic education and it shall be the duty of the Government in Nigeria to provide such education. (2) Every parent or guardian shall ensure that his child or ward attends and completes his‐ (a) primary school education; and
(b) junior secondary education.” The law that was domesticated in Bauchi State last December provided punishment for parents and guardians who deny a child basic education.
SUBEB admits menace, vows to address hawking by girls
The Bauchi State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) acknowledged the menace of street hawking among school girls in the state, according to the Director of School Service, Zuhairu Usman explained that the state government has provided necessary learning materials and infrastructures to accommodate students in schools but parents should held responsible for low enrolment and withdrawal of girls from school to hawk on the street.
Director of School Service, Zuhairu Usman Usman said he was part of the team who developed the State Education Sector Plan in 2022, claiming that the state gives priority to girl child education, welfare and appointment into public offices to encourage girl child.
According to him, a larger percentage of the teachers are women, saying that the environment is changing to end the cultural norms of denying women voices to be heard. On the growing hawkers among school age girls, Usman said that the Emir of Bauchi was appointed to lead critical stakeholders like commissioner of education, education secretaries, local government chairmen and others to drive enrolment back to school.
“That is to show you the level of commitment on the part of the government. We have gone round from household to household, begging parents to enroll their children in school but some of the families are part of the problem,” he said.
A well designed Gender Responsive Education Sector Plan (GRESP) and adequate funding according to experts, is capable of reducing the menace of girls who prioritise hawking ahead of basic education. Doing this would give girls like Khadija and her offsprings an opportunity to quality and affordable education.
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