AN ASSESSMENT ON THE IMPACT OF EARLY MARRIAGE ON THE ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT OF THE GIRL CHILD

AN ASSESSMENT ON THE IMPACT OF EARLY MARRIAGE ON THE ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT OF THE GIRL CHILD

​​​​​​​Background of the study

The influence of child marriage on the educational opportunities available to young women has been the subject of discussion since the dawn of time. On the occasion of Children's National Day in 2004, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), in collaboration with the Ministry of Education in Nigeria, held a presentation of statistical findings regarding the ratio of children who attend school to children who do not attend school in today's society (Barret, 2022). According to the study findings, approximately 7.2 million children in Nigeria are not enrolled in school because they are working in industries such as hawking, serving as maids to individuals, or in other occupations. In the meanwhile, according to the statistic shown above, 87 percent of these youngsters discovered outside of school were female. During a press conference that was hosted by the Chairman of the National Orientation Agency, Dr. Chukwuemeka Chukwudi, one of the key reasons why more girl children are discovered outside of school was because female children are given out on marriage at an early age range (Borg, 2022).

There is no longer any room for debate on the fact that women make up more than fifty percent (50%) of the world's working population (UNESCO, 2018). Despite the fact that they make a significant contribution to the growth of the country, they continue to struggle with a variety of challenges that restrict their capacity to advance both individual and communal growth. In this context, one of the primary causes for worry is the state of their education, which, at best, may be characterized as deteriorating to the point that it is no longer on par with that of men. (Borgdan, 2020). The institution of marriage is very important in any culture because it is valid in the creative process and assures the meaningful preparation of the social norm of society. Marriage is legitimate in the production process. Many people who value the fair involvement of women in contemporary education are concerned about the date of early marriage as well as the influence that it has as a consequence of this practice. When girls are married between the ages of 10 and 14, their educational careers are derailed, and this is particularly the case if there is no provision made for a second shot at schooling. Once females are excluded from this process, they become a burden on the society's effort to progress, and the opportunities for them to play constructive roles and make beneficial contributions are severely restricted.

It is inconceivable to consent to the marriage of young women of mature age before they have had the chance to complete their primary education, hence this practice cannot be tolerated. In the meanwhile, one realizes that the concept of girls being given away to men for marriage at a young stage of life is not actually because their parents, wish for such a life, but rather simply due to the poverty level that families are at. The fact that the UNDP provides the globe with an annual indication of the prevalence of poverty among the world's impoverished population, including those living in rural and urban areas, is undeniable proof that income is not distributed fairly within society. As a direct consequence of this, a number of families are now living below the poverty line, with daily incomes of less than N50. It is a well-established fact that the majority of households in Africa consist of many generations living under one roof. This is particularly important given the destructive effects of illnesses such as HIV/AIDS and hunger. As a consequence of this, families are less able to provide for the educational requirements of their children and grandchildren (Bunting, 2020). When it comes to deciding who should attend school, boys are often given priority over girls, which results in the latter group's educational needs being neglected to a far greater extent. This indicates that the effects of poverty on a kid's education are felt more by the female child than by the boy child since the majority of girls are given in marriage for the purpose of receiving money from the son-in-law to fund the education of the male child. The issue that has to be answered is why things have to be this way (Clark , 2022). In addition to the fact that some parents give their young daughters away in early marriages, thereby limiting their opportunities for education, it has also been observed that some women have negative self-concepts and believe they are unable to meet the challenges posed by the contemporary expectations that society has placed on them. This is a separate issue from the fact that some parents do give their young daughters away in early marriages. Because of this, their attempts to learn new things and further their education face quite significant challenges. It is a common misconception in today's culture that the primary focus of contemporary education is on achieving practical ends, or more specifically, on preparing students for the workforce. As a result, society observes a mismatch and a deficiency in energy when students graduate from educational programs that do not provide equivalent guarantee for positions in contemporary sector industries. This makes involvement less likely since there is never any weighty significance associated to the act of learning itself. In a similar vein, learners in schools are not taught skills that may assist them in becoming self-sufficient and gaining self-employment as a result of their official schooling (Croll, 2021). In addition, female children sometimes give in to the ideas of their parents in regard to getting married at a very early stage of life. They do this tentatively because they have learned that every perspective on education is masculine in character, which causes them to believe that their parents are right.

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