Abstract: This study examined the effects of early marriage on girl-child education in Madagali Local Government Area of Adamawa State. Three research questions were raised and two hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. The study employed descriptive survey research design. A sample of four hundred students was chosen from four senior secondary schools by stratified sampling technique using class, sex and locality as strata. The research instrument for this study was self-developed by the researcher titled “Effects of Early Marriage on Girl-Child Education (EEMGE)”. The instrument was validated by an expert in Counselling Psychology, while t-test reliability method was used to carry out the reliability of the instrument and the reliability coefficient was 0.81. Data collected were analyzed using frequency counts and percentages while t- test analysis used to tests the hypotheses. The results showed that the major causes of early marriage are emergencies and disasters, poverty and gender inequality. They girl-child suffer denial of education, unable to take personal decision and severe health problems. The concluded that emergencies and disasters, poverty, food security, gender inequality, protecting family honor and insecurity are the significant factors that encourage early marriage; and the major consequences of early marriage are premature death, complications during child birth and also severe health problems. It was recommended that the government, teachers and religious leaders should mount massive campaign for the awareness of the consequences of early marriage. Government and communities should be committed to getting girls to school on time and to keeping them in school through the secondary school level.
Keywords: Early marriage, girl-child, education, poverty and gender inequality.
Title: Effects of Early Marriage on Girl-Child Education in Madagali Local Government Area of Adamawa State Nigeria
Author: Dorcas Oluremi FAREO, Josepeph KUTUNDA
International Journal of Social Science and Humanities Research
ISSN 2348-3156 (Print), ISSN 2348-3164 (online)
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