THE United Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in its Education for
All Global Monitoring Report (EFA GMR) has listed
Nigeria as one the countries with the highest
number of out-of -school girls in Africa.
Nigeria leads the pack with 5.5 million, followed by
Ethiopia with One million, Rwanda, 60,000 and
Uganda 170,000.
According to a statement signed by the
Communications Specialist, EFA GMR, Kate Redman
to mark the International Day of the Girl Child held
on Friday, she stated that if all girls went to primary
school, one-sixth of child marriages could be
prevented among girls aged under 15 years in sub-
Saharan Africa and South and West Asia.
“If all girls got the chance to go to secondary school,
child marriages could be reduced by two-thirds in
these regions, saving almost two million girls from
becoming child brides,” she said.
She noted that the new EFA GMR analysis,
‘Education Transforms’, shows that one in eight girls
is married by the age of 15 years in sub-Saharan
Africa and South and West Asia.
“It shows how education can empower girls to find
greater confidence and freedom to make decisions
that affect their own lives. In Ethiopia, for example,
32 percent of girls with less than primary education
were married before the age of 15 years, compared
with less than nine percent of those with a
secondary education.
She quoted the Director of the EFA GMR, Pauline
Rose as saying that “Educating girls is one of the
best investments we can make and yet 31 million
girls of primary school age out of school, and 17
million are expected never to enter school at all. This
situation desperately needs addressing.”
Redman added that in preventing child marriages,
the EFA GMR’s new analysis shows that educating
girls can also prevent them from becoming mothers
themselves when just children, risking their own,
and their babies’ health in early childbirth.
“Education transforms’ shows that one in seven girls
has given birth by the age of 17 years in sub-
Saharan Africa and South and West Asia. Yet 10
percent fewer girls would become pregnant at an
age when they should be in school if they had a
primary education. There would be 59 percent fewer
pregnancies among girls under 17 years if all girls
had a secondary education, Redman said.
