Low Enrolment of Female Students in Tertiary Educational Institutions in Sokoto State, Nigeria: Cause, Challenges and Way Forward
Mukhtar Sarkin-Kebbi, Bello Musa & Abida Muhammad Danjum
1,2,&3Department of Educational Foundations, Faculty of Education, Sokoto State Univeristy, Sokoto, Nigeria. Email: skbyabo@gmail.com
Abstract
This study examined the low enrolment of female students in tertiary institutions in Sokoto State. The study employed a descriptive survey research, where the samples size of 373 and 585 from the population of 12,301 female students and cluster population were drawn respectively. Two self-designed instruments tagged: Challenges of Female Students in Tertiary Educational Institutions Questionnaire (CFSTEIQ) and Factors Causes Low Enrolment of female Students in Tertiary Institutions Questionnaire (FCLEMFSTIQ) were used for the study. The instruments were validated by experts based on face and content validities. The reliability indices of 0.82 and 0.75 were obtained respectively. The findings of the study revealed that female students in tertiary institutions in Sokoto State are faced with challenges of inadequate accommodation, low incomes, lack of proper counselling, inadequate toilet and sanitation facilities, and un-conducive learning environment among others. The study further revealed that widespread of poverty, fear of profound negative change of female students by parents, high cost of education, socio-cultural beliefs are some of the causes of low enrolment of female students. The study recommended among others that, there should be financial aid programmes for females at higher educational institutions to improve their enrolment, there should be conducive learning environment for female students, adequate and appropriate facilities should be provided; and there should be rigorous campaign against religious misinterpretations to enhance the credibility of gender norms and change perceptions and attitudes of people towards females’ education.
Keywords
Female Students, Low Enrolment, Female education, and Tertiary Institutions
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