Some Reflections on the Attitudes of Parents to Girl Child Education in Katsina State

Abstract

There have been global debates on the importance of girl-child education due to the unique abilities of girls in building
families, homes, and even nations. Several factors have been identified as impediments towards girls' education:
parents' attitudes, cultural factors, religious factors, and poverty. This study focuses on parental attitude as a broad
causative factor. Hence, the purpose of this work is to analyze the realities and challenges of parents' attitudes to
girls' education in Katsina State. The work highlighted the overview of girl-child education in Nigeria and Katsina
State. The paper adopted a qualitative method of analysis and dwelt majorly on empirical evidence from previous
research. The findings from the work revealed that more boys are enrolled in school than girls in Katsina State,
although this is the case in all the states of the federation. The significant challenges influencing the parent's attitude
to girl child education were identified as poverty and traditional/cultural beliefs. However, efforts and sensitization
are needed to improve the attitude of parents toward girls' education through better school enrolment in the state.