Education is the process by which an individual gains knowledge, comes to realize his or her potentialities, and makes use of those potentialities for the purpose of self-actualization, so that they can be useful to themselves and others. It is a method for keeping the culture of the society alive, passing it down to future generations, and enhancing it.

Providing mental, moral, and intellectual guidance to a young lady is what we mean when we talk about educating her. Education is a fundamental human right, and it should be made available to every girl child. It is impossible to place enough emphasis on how essential education is for the development of a young lady. Education is of the utmost importance in both the ethereal and the more material aspects of the human experience. It is the light that reveals the path by dispelling the shadows cast by ignorance. It is the salt that imparts the flavor of life. It is the medicine that heals. And it is the key that unlocks doors. The greatest gifts that can be bestowed upon a girl child are the opportunities to “be educated” and “to educate others.”

  According to the native traditional philosophy, a woman’s place is in the kitchen of her husband, and the primary focus of her role is within the confines of her own home. This belief has prevented a great number of young women from pursuing an education.

When a girl is forced into marriage at a very young age, her right as a human being is violated, and she is also deprived of her right to education. If a girl’s husband does not give her the opportunity to go to school, she is doomed to spend the rest of her life illiterate. Researchers have found that increasing access to education for women is essential for the growth of nations, and that the importance of women’s participation in society cannot be overstated. There is a common saying that goes: “When you educate a man, you educate one; when you educate a woman, you educate a nation.” This is the case due to the fact that the education of every child begins within the family, and the mother is the child’s first teacher. Girls who receive education are more likely to become educated mothers who, in turn, are more likely to educate their own children, care for their families, and provide for their children.

Therefore, educating the girl child translates to better health for the future generations, a reduction in child mobility and mortality, and consequently triggering a snowball effect of achieving all other sustainable development goals in a viable manner. Education for the girl child also helps prepare her for the challenges that she will face in society and teaches her how to be a responsible wife and mother. She discovers that she can be whoever and whatever she wants to be as a result of her education, which allows her to realize the full potentials that have been endowed in her. She would shatter the barrier of her own ignorance and open the door to her own self-discovery with the help of education. It is imperative that the Child’s Right Act be expanded upon and made mandatory in every state. The prevention of child abuse without discrimination will be greatly aided by this measure. When it comes to providing a valuable pipeline for the “educated girl child” to be transformed into women who will be agents of national transformation, policymakers need to create an environment that is conducive to increasing gender participation and making gender participation more equal.

Through our PAVE for Girls program we have assisted a lot of young girls to maximize their potential especially in the area of education. Visit www. Hacey.org for more.

Written By:

Michael Adegboye

The post Increased Access to Education for The Girl Child As Prerequisite For National Growth appeared first on HACEY.

One moving story that we recently came across is that of Sade. Sade is an 11-year  old young girl living in a rural community with both her parents and her elder brother. Her dad is a palm wine tapper and her mother, a petty trader. Both children completed their primary school education and when it was time to write the Common Entrance Examinations for entry into secondary school, Sade’s Father refused to send her to a secondary school.

In her words, “He said I am a woman and what I should bother about is getting married. He said there is no point in me going to school because his money will be wasted. He believed that sending my brother to secondary school is a better option because he will carry on from him. I was so sad.”

Among the two children, Sade was the most serious in primary school — topping her class — while her elder brother who, incidentally, only had interests in being a trader, struggled to finish primary school with just borderline grades. You would think that her comparative performance would encourage her father to prioritize her education; instead, it didn’t because he never paid any iota of attention to her education.

Sade, is an ambitious young girl, confided in her mother who knew how well she was doing in school, intimating her of her strong desire to write the G.C.E exams. As her mother and a woman who loved her daughter, she used some of her savings to pay for her examination fees without letting the father know.

Eventually, both children wrote the exams and Sade passed in flying colors. This result served as the catalyst that encouraged her dad to fund her education further, giving her the same chance for education just like her brother.

Now, Sade is a Barrister and an advocate for the girl child, speaking and carrying out initiatives that are set to change the situation of things in these underdeveloped communities.

Stories like this are the reason we at HACEY health initiative through our Edu-Giving program aim to increase awareness of quality education in communities where the girl child is at the biggest disadvantage. Through this program, we will leverage technology — web and mobile applications — and community networks to advance the education of the girl child in Nigeria.

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