Children’s Right to Education in Nigeria: The Challenges and the Prospects for the Girl Child.

Abstract:

Nigeria is a party to most of the international and regional instruments that protect children’s right to education especially the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACRWC). The provisions of these legislations have been adopted as the Child’s Right Act of Nigeria (CRA). This article aims at examining the extent of Nigeria’s compliance with the obligations imposed by these instruments concerning the right of the girl-child to education in Nigeria The paper adopts the doctrinaire research approach which enables the analysis of the provisions of various laws and policies. The paper found that despite abundant legal provisions for protecting children’s right to education, the girls are yet to fully enjoy the right like their male counterparts in Nigeria due to several factors like inadequate enforcement of the CRA, poverty, insecurity and attacks on schools and gender-based violence. This paper argues that educating the girl child is a critical aspect of societal advancement which represents not just the empowerment of the girls but also a cornerstone for global development. It recommends inter alia, monitoring and ensuring the implementation of the right to education based on current international standard as enshrined in the CRA for all children especially girls coupled with advocacy on the right to education principles and legal obligations through all stakeholders including the government and Non-governmental Orgainisations.