**3. Education of a girl child in Nigeria**

Education is seen as a process through which an individual is admitted into society by being taught what is worthwhile in order that the individual might play her part well in society. Generally, education involves learners or children; a child is someone who is a young individual between birth and adolescence. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child [42] defines a child as "a human being below the age of 18 years unless under the law applicable to the child." From the social psychological viewpoint, a child is a human being from conception to adolescence. 'The age at which a person ceases to be a child depends on the culture, purpose, and law of the land [43, 44]." More so, Nmaduet al. [45] cited in Murthi et al. [46], "it is a belief that "female education is a powerful mechanism for controlling both mortality and fertility. Recent empirical studies from various social sciences disciplines proved a strong connection between education and demographic change, which confirms that education improves health and reduces fertility." For instance, educated women are much more likely to use dependable family planning approaches, delay marriage and childbearing, and have fewer (and healthier) babies than women without education. However, the scholars affirm that "women with a secondary school education tend to have improved knowledge about health care practices, are less likely to become pregnant at a very young age, tend to have fewer, better-spaced pregnancies, and are more likely to seek antenatal care, postnatal care, and skilled attendance at delivery."

#### **3.1 Causes of poor participation of girl children in education in Nigeria**

The following are some of the causes of poor participation of girl children in education in Nigeria:-

• **Religious Factor**: According to Crosnoe et al. [47] and Alabi and Alabi [36] "influence of religions of world favored male than a female child. In fact, most religious specialists and leaders are males and this makes for an authoritative image in favor of boys, and it would be a cooperative move if religious leaders of all trusts, beliefs, and denominations were to speak out powerfully in support of the female cause."

*Psychosocial Educational and Economic Impact of COVID-19: Implication for Girl Child… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.107181*


## **3.2 Challenges of girl child education in Nigeria**

Akhigbe and Koleoso [51] put Nigeria with the highest rate of out-of-school children among the other countries in the year 2013, with less than 50% of girls in schools. Particularly the girls from the northeast region of Nigeria. The Global Coalition to protect education from attack [52] stated that, though attacks have involved the abduction of both school boys and girls, there has been a higher reported number of abduction of school-aged girls and women." In the same vein, GCPEA report indicated that some of the challenges of girl child education in the area include family socioeconomic status and the high rates of poverty, many parents could not afford to send their children to school because of the costs of education, including school fees, uniforms, and textbooks. Furthermore, some parents were resistant to sending their children to formal schools long before the emergence of Boko Haram the Global Coalition to protect education from attack [53].

Also, on the challenges of girl child education "The Global Coalition to protect education from attack [53] quoted Hauwa M., a 16-year-old student of Federal Government College Buni Yadi, Yobe state who witness Boko Haram attack in their respective school in 2014, "*After the attack, I went home. I was too afraid and decided not to go back. I told my parents I would never go back to school. They were also too afraid....Before [the attack], I was so passionate to study and achieve my dream [of being a lawyer]. But now, this experience completely demoralized me....I told my father that I will never go back because of Boko Haram threats and what I saw that night. I cannot go back to face the same thing again."*


**Table 1** explains the incidences of girl child kidnapped from their school:-.

#### **Table 1.**

*Incidents of kidnapping and abduction of school children from school in Nigeria between 2014 and 2021.*

*Psychosocial Educational and Economic Impact of COVID-19: Implication for Girl Child… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.107181*

#### **3.3 Categories of girl children with psychosocial problems in Nigeria**

800,000 persons are reported missing every year, about 2000 missing persons a day [51, 55, 56]. Around 5% of these are under the age of 18. Approximately 400,000 refugee survivors of torture currently live in the United States, a significant portion of which are children [57]. Usually a kidnapped child, after release, often suffer trauma; victims are faced with a whole lot of challenges [58].

#### **3.4 Evidence of girl children with psychosocial problems in Nigeria**

Psychosocial refers to the importance attached in connection between psychological aspects of the human experience and the wider social experience. Therefore, "Kapur [49] discusses how psychological problems are an integral part of an individual's life. Individuals usually experience psychological problems in one's work, maintaining relationships, health problems, and when they feel overwhelmed due to certain factors, such as, workload, unable to obtain adequate sleep, nutrition, and so forth." However, according to Kapur [49], "When psychological problems, experienced by individuals, are affecting them to a major extent, then it is vital for them to seek solutions. It is good to not that, depression, stress, anxiety, and psychosocial problems are the various psychological problems experienced by individuals' students." Similarly, Omigbodun [59] studied psychosocial issues in children and adolescent psychiatric clinic populations in Nigeria. The study aimed at finding out whether psychosocial stressors and life events existed among 127 children's with psychosocial stressors over the 3 years, and the result of the study revealed that 79 (62.2%) of the 127 new referrals to the clinic had significant psychosocial stressors in the year preceding presentation. However, most of the empirical studies on psychosocial issues in children and adolescents in Nigeria revealed that "the most common psychosocial problems among children and adolescents in Nigeria were problems associated with school adjustment, interpersonal relationships and medical therapy, and perceived depression (Famuyiwa, O O, Matti O O)." Furthermore, study by Omigbodun [59] discovered some of the causes of psychosocial stressors among the children who were referred to psychiatric clinic over the period of 3-year, which are divided into two: the first one are problems associated with lack of primary support, to include: separation from parents to live with relatives, disruption of the family, abandonment by mother, psychiatric illness in a parent, and sexual or physical abuse, occurred in 50 (39.4%) of the subjects. The second causes are problems associated with social environmental factors that occurred in 11 subjects (8.7%), 39 (30.7%) had educational problems, 5 (3.9%) had economic problems, and 15 (11.8%) of the children had "other" psychosocial stressors. More significantly, it is an evidence that more children and adolescents have disruptive behavior disorders and disorders like enuresis, separation anxiety and suicidal behavior, and psychosocial stressors when compared with children with psychotic conditions such as autistic disorder and epilepsy (chi(2) = 9.6; p = 0.048). More importantly, the study further recommended the importance of the psychosocial diagnostic dimension in routine schedules.

#### **3.5 Girl child education and COVID-19 pandemic**

The outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria poses a great challenge to the education system in the country's already fragile education system. Obiakor and Adeniran [60] discuss controversial issues of school closure in a very critical moment, and it can have spillover effects on a large number of students in receiving schools. Thus, the consequences of school closure can affect the quality of teaching and learning and academic achievement, particularly for students with special needs or those with learning difficulties that often require more physical attention and guidance from the teachers. Therefore, before the pandemic, there was an estimated total of 10.2 million out-of-school children in Nigeria. About 1.6 billion learners in 190 countries across the world were affected by the pandemic, with 94% of the world's school population impacted by school closures (United Nations *Policy Brief*, The Education Partnership Nigeria (TEP) [61, 62]). The closure of schools has affected 36,400,000 primary and secondary school learners across Nigeria, including those in internally displaced camps.

#### **3.6 How psychosocial problems affects girl child education**

Psychosocial disorders disrupt the normal functioning of the affected child and the family. Children may lose interest in play and school activities, and relationships with family and friends are usually impaired. The Dakar Framework for Action goal (b) stipulated that all girls child, in difficult circumstances, such as those with Psychological problems or it related terms should have access to complete at least primary education of good quality [63]. Kapur [49] agreed that, psychological problems are an integral part of an individual's life, usually individuals developed and experience psychological problems in one's work, upholding interactions, environmental and health related problems and when individual's feel overwhelmed due to certain factors, such as, workload, inability to obtain adequate sleep, inadequate food and nutrition among others. Child health professionals (CHPs) identified the existence of psychosocial problems among school-aged children, particularly a girls child. One out of ten (20%) adolescents encounter at least one behavioral problem internationally [64]. Half of lifetime mental disorders begin before the age of 14 years, and 75% begin by the age of 24 years [64]. There is a need for early detection of these problems at home and in school especially in preschool [63, 65, 66]. As individuals develop, they usually experience psychological problems in one way or the other, be it in the workplace or in maintaining relationships with loved ones, health problems, and when they feel overwhelmed due to certain factors, such as, workload, unable to obtain adequate sleep, and nutrition [49]. Reijneveld et al. [67] reported the result of study conducted by American Child Health Professionals (CHPs) in Dutch Preventive Child Health Care; confirm that, one or more psychosocial problems were identified in 25% of all children. However, the study further revealed that, 1 in 5 of the identified children with psychosocial problems was referred for further identification and treatment.
