IMPACT OF EARLY MARRIAGE ON THE EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT OF AN ADOLESCENT

ABSTRACT

This study is intended to assess the impact of early marriage on the educational attainment of youth. The study was carried out in Enugu North LGA. The study employed a mixed research approach and a case study design, using a sample of 36 students, 32 parents, 28 teachers, and 8 village leaders. In addition, the study used questionnaires to collect data.  The findings showed that there were students who dropped out of school for marriage. Early marriage was contributed to by poverty and a lack of community awareness, among other reasons. It was observed that early pregnancy, diseases, complications during delivery, death, and psychological problems were the problems facing children who married at an early age. The study concludes that early marriage is still a practice because of a lack of community awareness among community members, a lack of civic education, a lack of strong leadership in the community, and a lack of meetings and discussions in the community. The study recommends that education should be provided to raise community awareness so as to reduce the practice of early marriage and school dropout among students. With the establishment of strict by-laws, there should be meetings and discussions on early marriage, as well as the establishment of different programmes. All these will be effectively done if parents, the government, schools, and other stakeholders work together.

 

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND

1.1 Background to the Study

Education is the process by which society, through schools, colleges, universities, and other institutions, transmits its cultural heritage, values, and skills from one generation to another. (Ukeje, 1980). According to Ozochi (2008), education is seen as a solution for a vast range of tasks in society and a bedrock for national development. The National Policy on Education in Nigeria (2004 revised) saw education as a dynamic instrument per excellence for effecting national development and a potent means for ensuring the welfare of the people and the equalisation of life chances. The benefits derivable from educational investment equip the individual for proper understanding of important phenomena and further exploitation of human and material resources. Education is equally the process whereby one is prepared for the task of living happily with one’s neighbours, advancing the cause of one’s society, and finding solutions to its nagging problems (Okeke, 2004).

In traditional African society, the role of women was pegged and circumscribed. It was considered taboo to send a female to school. This is because of the attitude towards education for women. It was considered a waste of money, time, and effort considering that most women in no time get married into another family to raise the children that serve as farm hands for their father. In addition to raising the children for the man, the women still helped to keep the house and provide meals for all. Hence the saying some years ago that women’s education ends in the kitchen. This primitive attitude exposes women to early marriage.

According to UNICEF (2008), early marriage, better known as child marriage, is defined as marriage carried out below the age of 18 years before the girl is physically, physiologically, and psychologically ready to shoulder the responsibilities of marriage and childbearing. Early marriage also means the individual becomes sexually active early, raising children while they are still children. The marriage of a young girl affects not only her life but also the lives of the children she will bear.

Early marriage has been a common practice among many ethnic groups in the world, including Nigeria. However, it has contributed to a series of negative consequences, both for young girls and the society in which they live. It is a violation of human rights in general and of girl’s rights in particular (Abdallah, 2015). For both girls and boys, early marriage has profound physical, intellectual, psychological, and emotional impacts, cutting off educational and employment opportunities and chances of personal growth. In Northern Nigeria, where the practice is prevalent, the impact is more on girls, as many of them marry in large numbers and with more intensity. Besides having a negative impact on girls themselves, the practice of early marriage also has negative consequences for their children, families, and society as a whole (Adedokun et al., 2012). Studies revealed that the practice is more prominent among rural dwellers, the poor, the illiterate, and in less-developed areas (Adebowale et al., 2012; World Vision UK, 2013; UNICEF, 2014). Due to the high level of illiteracy, poverty, and a large proportion of rural dwellers in Nigeria, the country is one of the highest-risk areas of child marriage in the world. In spite of its widespread and reproductive outcomes, it is against this background that the researcher intends to examine the effects of early marriage practice on girl’s education in Nigeria.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

The present state of the nation (Nigeria) demands that youths be educated first before marriage. It is on this note that the researchers would like to investigate the causes of early marriage among adolescents in Enugu, North L.G.A. The study also identified the impact it has on the educational attainment of our youths. Consequently, the involvement of parents in such marriages is determined since education is a major instrument for the development of any nation. Early marriage puts the youth at a disadvantage because of their loss of educational opportunities. The level of development in any nation is measured by the level of educational attainment of the people in the area. The more people in the area are educated, the more the area will develop.

1.3 Research Questions

Three research questions guide this study:

1) What are the factors responsible for early marriage among youth of Enugu North L.G.A

2) What is the relationship between early marriage and educational attainment?

3) What are the differences existing in the education of boys and girls in Enugu North L.G.A.?

1.4 Objectives of the Study

The purpose of the study was to find out the impact of early marriage on the educational attainment of youth.

Specifically, the Study

• Determined the relationship between early marriage and educational attainment.
• Ascertained the causes of early marriage among youths in the Enugu North Local Government Area.
• To know the difference existing in the education of boys and girls in Enugu North Local Government Area.

1.5 Significance of the Study

The result of the study will be a useful instrument for students, teachers, curriculum planners, parents, and the government.

The students would find the work necessary when they consult this project for further research. It will also serve as a reference during their project writing.

Teachers, on their part, use it to assign further study to the work of other researchers.

This study, through its findings, is of immense benefit in the following areas: Female students will gain from this study by learning that education is the only way to achieve greater goals in life, and this will help them correct the instability that has existed in girl’s education. Parents will gain a great deal from this study by learning that women's education is not a waste and that if you educate a man, if you educate a woman, you educate a family and a nation, and this will help change their attitudes and ignorance towards girls education. The government, at both the federal, state, and local levels, will gain from this study by realising that funds, higher-access education, and poverty-easing programmes should be made available for education at all levels. Educators, educational planners, and the general public will gain from this study by learning that girls are in no way inferior to men; they will also gain by learning how to educate, guide, and counsel girls in their choice of educational courses.

1.6 Scope and Limitations Of The Study

This study focused on the impact of early marriage on the educational attainment of youth.

The researcher encounters some constraints which limit the scope of the study:

1. a) AVAILABILITY OF RESEARCH MATERIAL:The research material available to the researcher is insufficient, thereby limiting the study
2. b) TIME:The time frame allocated to the study does not enhance wider coverage as the researcher has to combine other academic activities and examinations with the study.
3. c) Organisational privacy: Limited access to the selected auditing firm makes it difficult to get all the necessary and required information concerning the activities.

1.7 Definition Of Terms

Education: Education is defined as the process of easing learning, or the learning of knowledge, skills, values, beliefs, and habits.

Marriage

Is the legal relationship between a husband and wife (Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary, 2002). According to UNICEF (2011), marriage is a social institution that unites people in a special form of mutual dependence for the purpose of developing a family.

Early Marriage

Is a marriage involving a person aged below 18 years old (Human Rights Watch, 2014). In this study, early marriage is considered to be a marriage that involves students at any age before they complete their secondary education.

Child Marriage

UNICEF (2011) defines child marriage as couples who are formally married or who live together as a sexually active couple in an informal union with at least one member, usually the girl, who is less than 18 years old. Child marriage refers to a union where one of the individual in marriage is below 18 years of age (UNPF,

2012).

Early marriage, or child marriage, is defined as the union between two people in which one or both parties are younger than 18 years of age.

Academic Performance: Academic performance is the outcome of education—the point to which a student, teacher, or institution has achieved their educational goals. Academic performance is commonly measured by examinations or continuous assessment, but there is no general agreement on how it is best tested or which aspects are more important.

School Dropout

This refers to the early withdrawal of students from school without completing the required school years (UNICEF, 2011).

1.8 Organisation of the Study

This research work is organised in five chapters for easy understanding, as follows:

Chapter one is concerned with the introduction, which consists of an overview of the study, historical background, statement of problem, objectives of the study, research hypotheses, significance of the study, scope and limitation of the study, definition of terms, and historical background of the study. Chapter two highlights the theoretical framework on which the study is based, thus the review of related literature. Chapter three deals with the research design and methodology adopted in the study. Chapter four concentrates on the data collection, analysis, and presentation of findings.  Chapter five gives a summary, conclusion, and recommendations for the study.

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