Nigeria

The Girls' Education Challenge (GEC) had two projects in Nigeria, which aimed to improve learning opportunities and outcomes for over 222,080 of the country's marginalised girls. Access to good quality education gives these girls the chance of a better future for themselves, their families and their communities.

The GEC was launched in 2012 and is the largest donor-funded global girls' education programme. Through their strong focus on improving literacy, numeracy and life skills, GEC projects are supporting girls to seek out and secure their full potential.

GEC projects are implementing a diverse range of interventions in a variety of different contexts. They are financing access to education, providing materials for learning and creating safe spaces to learn. They are working with governments, communities and schools to raise standards and to build support for girls' education. They are training and mentoring teachers and governors to improve the quality of teaching and the effectiveness of school governance. And they are working directly with girls to raise their aspirations and achievements, and enable them to transition from primary education to secondary education, or technical or vocational education and training or employment.

The GEC implements a rigorous approach to monitoring and evaluation. All projects must demonstrate the additional impact they are making on girls' learning outcomes, using robust statistical approaches. This is generating a substantial source of qualitative and quantitative evidence on successful strategies for girls to learn and thrive at school.

Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa with one third of the population aged between 15 and 24 years old and an estimated 13.2 million children out of school.

Girls' education in Nigeria

Nigeria has an extremely young, growing population. Growth, over the last decade especially, has put additional pressure on the country's resources and public services, including the education system. The Government's Basic Education scheme aims to extend education opportunities and tackle illiteracy. Although net enrolment has increased in recent years, it is estimated that about 4.7 million children of primary school age are still not in school.

Poverty is the major barrier to education in Nigeria, and many children do not attend school because their labour is needed to help at home and/or to bring additional income into the family. In addition, early pregnancy and marriage has led to high drop out rates for adolescent girls.

The Northern region has the lowest school attendance rate in the country, particularly for girls. In North Eastern Nigeria, education is targeted by Boko Haram for the group's violent terror attacks. This has destabilised the education system and had a disproportionate impact on girls.

Projects

Educating Nigerian Girls in New Enterprises (ENGINE) - implementation completed in October 2020
Mercy Corps Nigeria

Through innovative partnerships with communities and the public and private sectors, the ENGINE project offered continued support to 18,050 marginalised girls and young women aged 17 to 23 years old. It worked with government schools and centres to improve teaching, increase access to childcare and offer additional literacy and numeracy support for girls who were in school. Girls who had dropped out of school were given the opportunity to further their education through flexible learning with tailored modules in government training centres or ENGINE learning spaces.

Fitila Project - implementation completed in December 2020
Impact(Ed), formerly Discovery Learning Alliance

Impact(Ed) International has supported marginalised girls to improve their literacy and numeracy skills, develop their life skills and raise their aspirations. Impact(Ed) International’s approach combined professional development of teachers with video technology and teaching resources. These were used to support learning gains, the completion of primary schooling and the transition to secondary school, and to enable the pursuit of both educational and life goals. By improving the quality of education with government partners and shifting community attitudes and actions to further support girls’ education, the project aimed to positively impact girls (and boys) now and for years to come. Known locally as the Fitila project, Impact(Ed) International, in partnership with the State Universal Basic Education Board of Kano, reached 609 primary and junior secondary school communities.