GIRL-CHILD EDUCATION AND NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA

Girl-child education is a right to education and skill acquisition, the right to career choice and self actualization. In Nigeria in the past, education was not necessarily been a priority for the girl-child because of cultural beliefs, poverty, religion, among others. It was wrongly believed that the place of a girl-child was in the kitchen. Some parents were not willing to send the girl-child to school because they felt it was a waste of resources and time to educate the girl-child because she would later be married to someone else. However, girl- child is very important for attainment of national development. This paper discusses the benefits of girl-child education. The causes and consequences of lack of girl-child education which include early marriage, hawking, prostitution, girl-child trafficking, Vasco Virginal Fistula (VVF), and so on are discussed. Recommendations are made to encourage girl-child education in Nigeria.