Factors Affecting Sustainable Women Education in Nigeria Essay Example

potentialities and ability to organise a group that could exert political pressure, as well as seek for elective or leadership roles. The non-participation of the women in educational programme has not benefited them as to disabuse most biases and discriminations institutionalised through gender stereotype which were based on ignorance and lack of scientific information.

Those of them that never participated in any form of educational programme have also not been able to make significant changes in their well being and family size. Women constitute a large and important segment of any nation (Obasanjo and Mabogunje, 1991). And they are the bedrock of the development of any nation (Ucheagu, 1999). This is in consonant with the United Nations’ declaration of 1975-85 as the decade for women. Because of marginalization, women have been segregated from crucial economic and political resources that are directed at development endeavours (Buvinic, 1983).

In order to make women contribute to the development of a nation, education is used as a social vehicle, with which women move from the periphery to the centre of political leadership where her voice is heard at the highest decision-making level of the society. Since women make a larger segment of most nations, educational neglect of women is disastrous and retrogressive. Obasanjo and Mabogunje (1991) warned that significant strides in development are unrealistic for any country that marginalizes women who constitute a large and important segment of that society.

Women had been marginalized and disempowered through malignant sexism, which results in complete economic and political manipulation as well as sexual exploitations. The National Policy on Education (1977and1981) see education as the process which helps to

develop the whole man politically, physically, mentally, socially and technologically to enable him function effectively in any given environment in which he may find himself(Federal Republic of Nigeria,1977 and 1981). In this context, man includes woman. Education is the inculcation of knowledge and skills in an individual, which tends to raise ones productivity.

It is that processes which helps the whole man to grow (Okojie, 1993). The education of women is guaranteed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Article 26 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights sees education as a basic right and a major enabling factor in national development. Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights stated that “everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free at least to the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory.

Technical and professional education shall be made generally available, and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit. Education shall be directed to the full development of this human personality. ” Also, Article 2 of the protocol to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (Rome, November 4th, 1950) stated that “no person shall be denied the right to education”. The International Commission of Jurists declared in Athens in 1955 that “the right to education must be guaranteed to all without discrimination”.

The 1960 Convention against discrimination in education urged that steps should be taken to ensure that equal opportunities to education were made accessible to all (Ade-Ajayi, 1994) The sustainable education of women is a kind of investment in human resources which can yield enormous

benefits for the family and the society in general. Women play constructive, complimentary and fundamental roles in the society. The education of woman in the formal education exposes her to available information that could aid them in responsible behaviour for effective and efficient motherhood.

Education confers undoubted benefits on the individuals and the society especially when it is appropriate to the goals and aspirations of the society. Based on the above, Nyerere (1970) stated that education should be designed to meet the economic and developmental circumstances of a nation. It is in realisation of the above that women need to participate in the socio-economic development of any nation which is in consonant with the United Nations advocacy which led to pronouncement of a decade for women (1975-1985).

According to the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 3010: XXVII, the decade was aimed at addressing issues relating to the educational advancement of women with the over riding goals being that of developing their potentials, contribute to and benefit from development (United Nations, 1985). The United Nations in a publication titled “The Nairobi Forward Looking: Strategies for the Advancement of Women”, published in 1985 provided a framework for renewal commitment by member states to the advancement of women in education (United Nations, 1985).

The education of women in the region came into prominence in the early 1980’s when the need for women to participate in national development was realised. According to the National Integrated Survey of Households conducted by the Federal Office of Statistics, between April 1983 and March 1984, majority of the women in Nigeria especially the rural women and women above thirty years

of age and over are illiterates (cannot read and write) as a result of their limited access to formal education Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1985a and 1985b).

People became aware of environmental problems in 1972 when the first United Nations Conference on Human Environment was held in Stockholm, Denmark. Sustainability had its origin in 1987 when the World Commission on Environment and Development, defined it as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987:43). The commission went further to see sustainable development as “economic and social development that meet the needs of the current eneration without endangering the ability of future generations satisfying their needs and choosing their lifestyles and it has to do with population and economic growth and development, food security, species, water, wildlife, fish and ecosystems, energy, industry and urban challenge”. The above definition of sustainable development deals with needs. Needs means different things to different people and is linked to our ability to satisfy them. (Elliot, 1999:7) Society has to strive to be able to define and create new needs within certain groups, without satisfying even the basic needs of others.

The concept of sustainable development emerged after the Rio De Janeiro Earth Summit of June 1992 when the world leaders expressed concern over the dangers of uncontrolled industrial growth and the problems of devastating ecological crisis in the Sahel as well as other man made disasters of the environment. Since then a lot of awareness has been created which led to the recent World Conference on Sustainable Development in

Johannesburg, South Africa. Sustainable development cannot be understood in a historical vacuum (Adams, 1990:14).

The concept of sustainable development has gained a currency well beyond the confines of global environmental organizations (Adams, 1990:2), to many political and academic fields (Elliot, 1995:5). From the ecological point of view, sustainable development is seen to deal with the natural environment and human activities (Underwood and King, 1989, Goodland and Ladec, 1987). Conway (1987:96) sees sustainable development as the net productivity of biomass (positive mass balance per unit area per unit time) maintained over decades of centuries.

Turner (1988:12) is of the view that sustainable development is in principle; such an optimal (sustainable growth) policy seeking to maintain an acceptable rate of growth in per-capita real incomes without depleting the national capital asset stock or the natural environmental asset stock. According to Onokerhoraye (1995), sustainable development talks about two things- the effects of human management of the environment and the control of the harmful impact of human activities on the environment. But Ballara (1991) see sustainable development as humanity’s ability to survive by means f the rational use of renewable resources, by reframing from disrupting the ecosystem or over-exploiting natural resources and by reframing from activities that destroy cultures or societies which instead, allow them to reach their potential. b The United Nations Environmental Programme sees sustainable development as dealing with climatic changes and pollution of the atmosphere, pollution and shortage of fresh water resources, deterioration of ocean and coastal areas, land degradation, biological impoverishment, hazardous waste and toxic chemicals management of bio-technology in addition to the protection of health and quality of life.

This is

in support of the Agenda 21 document of the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development carried much political authority and moral force towards reconciling conservation and development actions into the twenty-first century (Marther and Capman, 1995). The Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) in 1988 defined sustainable development as the management and conservation of the natural resource base, and the orientation of technological and institutional change, in such a manner as to ensure the attainment and continued satisfaction of human needs for present and future generations.

Based on the numerous conception of the term “sustainable development sustainable development”, one is of the view that there are no ascertained universal definitions of the term “sustainable development”. Supporting this assertion, Holmberg and Sandbrook (1992) posit that there are more than seventy definitions of sustainable development currently in circulation.

Likewise, Eboh (1995) contends that the situation is not helped by the fact that countries in different forms and stages of development and with very socio-political and economic structures, cannot reasonably subscribe to the same definitional regime. To him, the definitional and paradigmatic differences have characterized the intellectual discourse on sustainable development. Sustainable Women Education Cooper and Palmer (1992) assert that the global future depends upon sustainable development.

Sustainable development relates the slowing of population growth, reduction of poverty and inequalities and the Third World debt crises, sustainable agriculture, forest and habitat protection, protection of fresh water quality, increasing energy efficiency, development of renewable sources of energy, limitation of air pollution, reduction of waste generation and increment in waste recycling, protection of the ozone layer, ocean and coastal resources and the shifting of military spending

to sustainable development.

Sustainable development is a dynamic process that satisfies the needs of the present and future generations respecting the integrity of the ecosystem upon which development rests; a process that and relaxes the production constraints of the ecosystem and diversifies its productivity base without degrading it, while marrying the economy to ecology.

Amalu (1998) states that sustainable development contains two key concepts of needs (in particular the essential needs of the world’s poor) that should receive overriding priority and the idea of limitations imposed by the state of technology and social organization on the environment’s ability to meet present and future needs. Sustainable development has to do with the sustainability of man-made and human capital for natural resources capital through human inventiveness and institutional responsiveness (Schuh, 1987).

In the same vein, Makandya and Pearce (1988) see it as relating to use of resources and real incomes. Barier (1989) supports the above definition by postulating that it focuses on optimal resource management to maximize the net benefits of economic development while maintaining the services and quality of the natural resources. Since sustainable development has to do with human capital development, women as human need to be developed. Sustainable development should be able to address the potentialities of women in national development.

Women through education contributes to development of the nation and various governments world over have realized their roles in development. Okeke (1993) stated that government and organisations instituted incentives inorder to motivate women to attend literacy classes and the establishment of model women education centres for organising regular or informal classes for women education in literacy and skill acquisition.

Okwakpam (1989a and 1989b) stated that education is aimed at equipping women to respond to opportunities and challenge traditional and social values.

Supporting this assertion, Mundi (1999) stated that education has been regarded as a very potent force that promotes economic growth and development of any state. The sustainability of education of women benefits not only the women but also the society at large. There is no gainsaying the fact that education has positive influence on the women, her children and her husband. As a matter of fact, there is a very strong relationship between the level of education and the performance of her children in school, and the standard of life of her generally (Azikwe 1992).

The performance of women’s dual roles of reproduction and production depends largely on her level of education, which invariably determines her income, ability to organize and lead, as well as ability to resist marginalization or discrimination. According to Okeke (1995) the Nigerian government in effort to see the education of women becoming a reality, developed and launched in 1986 a document ”Blueprint for Women Education” This document is expected to serve as a guide for instituting and implementing programme of formal and non-formal education of women.

The federal government instituted the “Educate Women for Development Programme”. This programme tried to implement the suggested strategies for widening women’s access to education both at the formal and non-formal settings. It also created awareness and enlightenment among parents on the importance and benefits of educating the women and the girl-child. Governments and international agencies now have recognised the importance of integrating women effectively and fully in the development

process. This issue is not a question of equity, but one of necessity for national and international development (Dixon-Mueller and Ankar, 1988).

Integrating women into development process is best achieved through education. Section 12 of the National Policy on Social Development specified that illiteracy which is an impediment towards the integration of women in development process must be eradicated and promote functional education among women in the country (Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1989). Educational inequality in the Niger Delta has grossly affected the social development of the state and nation as a whole. There is need for such problems to be addressed.

This in turn has occupied the attention of researchers, policy planners and policy makers. Women are said to have realised their roles in educational development and has come to be fore players in its development. Women has been regarded as upper servant whose interest will be not to wrong the husband and in whom therefore, she can put into confidence in anything he can provide for the family. It is in this premise, therefore that the author looks at the relevance of women education in the development of the Niger Delta, which is the aim of this paper.