CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

With an increase in the number of girls who either drop out of school or do not even gain any knowledge through formal education, it raises a cause for concern. Education is very

vital and important in the life of an individual. With basic knowledge, an individual equips himself or herself with the basic skill and tool to solve real life problems. Education enables an individual to identify his or her potentials hence exploring endless possibilities and therefore arming him or herself with the ability to be reproductive. Education creates awareness especially to a girl child about their rights and gives them the confidence which empowers them to achieve human rights that has been deprived of them due to socio-cultural constraints.it therefore makes sense that educating someone especially a girl child is empowering a broader society.

   Education is as old as man. Traditionally, informal education existed as it was offered to both boys and girls. In the community of Ngvu, young boys were groomed by their fathers in affairs of manhood while young girls were trained by their mothers to be good house keepers. Cultural practices, discipline, obedience was taught to girls by their mothers and aunties, practices such as early marriages, male preference are just some of the practices that affected young girls in this community.

   Formal education practiced in Ngvu community was introduced by the Christian missionary. Cameroon Baptist convention after opening the first church in this community, went ahead to provide them with a school so that it could occupy most children and teach them in the ways of God. Even with the opening of this one school, preference was still giving to the male child; this was mostly because the girl child was often seen as a source of income. Most young girls did not enjoy the privileges of stepping into school. This is because there was a strict follow up on cultural practices.

   Even though a good number of girls taking the challenge to go to school, there still is a great number of girls who either voluntarily or not stay at home and engage in income raising activities. This is very evident in the proportion especially at the secondary level of education.  This situation is worst in Africa in general and specifically high in some regions of Cameroon; take an example the case I will be working on in Ngvu Sop Village Ndu. The inability for most girls’ to recognize their rights to education has generated a lot of effects on their ability to recognize their educational, social, political and economic rights (Gibson 2004). Hence, this has made the girl child to be humiliated and relegated to the background also making them a vulnerable group in the community.

The primary objective of the educational plan in Cameroon formed in the year 2013-2020, is the achievement of quality Universal primary education. The country has made notable progress in recent years especially with socio-political upheavals and the restrictions brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. The current education sector plan is focused on improving access as well as governance and management of the educational sector. The International Development Association program in Cameroon, aims to:

• Improve access, quality and management of the education system. This is done by promoting better distribution of newly recruited teachers in public primary schools across the country. Also by strengthening teachers’ capacity to effectively follow new curricula. More so, it increases the number of textbooks on essential subjects available in primary schools. Setting up of standardized assessment systems and finally improving the educational environment and the quality of children’s education.
• Improving school efficiency by providing performance based grants to schools. According to the IDA program, the selection of beneficiary schools will be based on the following criteria; students’ retention and participation, teachers’ absenteeism, improvement in learning conditions, improvement in budget transparency and increase in community satisfaction.
• Improve the teaching and learning environment in beneficiary schools. This will be done by strengthening continuous professional development activities for teachers’ and also strengthening institutional capacities.

The aim of education in Cameroon is to increase access by reducing disparities of all kinds in primary and secondary education. Also to expand basic educations to include lower secondary schools

   This thesis reports the findings of a thorough study to establish Socio-cultural factors that affect Girls’ access to formal education in Ngvu sop Village Ndu and how success factors can be implanted in the school and community in general to promote girls’ formal education.

To assist in the possible improvement of the formal education attained by the girl child in Ngvu village, I need to understand the socio-cultural constraints, leadership, responsibility; structure of the educational facilities and funding to help the girl child acquired the best form of formal education. My research has incorporated interviews with teachers in Ngvu and a questionnaire survey to all participants of Ngvu sop village.

     Problem statement

Education is considered to be a basic right and need to an individual. Education for All (EFA) and Global Monitoring Report (UNESCO 2005), note that being educated adds value to the person’s life in which can be instrumental in the pursuit of development at the level of personal, family and community levels. A child deprived of any form of education is handicapped for life.

Young girls’ in Ngvu, either engage more in agricultural activities, early marriages or work as nannies to other families so as to help their families or make ends meet.  More so, the community has only one primary school and the only available secondary school is located miles away in the neighboring community. For proper education (Formal) to take place, institutions have to be available, accessible, acceptable and adaptable to all learners. Girls’ right to formal education has been infringed on and remains unrealized for most young girls’ in the community of Ngvu.

Therefore, the fact that most young girls in Ngvu end up not pursuing formal education but rather are involved in informal and non-formal forms of education, has raised the need to investigate how social and cultural factors affect their ability and access to formal education.

     Purpose of the Study

The purpose of the study is to investigate on Socio-cultural factors that hinder girls’ access to formal education in Ngvu Sop village and what possible solutions can be implemented to grant more access to formal education in Ngvu

     Objectives of the Study

1. To investigate Socio-cultural factors that hinder girls’ access to formal education in Ngvu sop Village.
2. To find out how parents literacy rate affects the girl child’s access to formal education.

• To find out how male preference affects girls access to formal education.

1. To find out how early marriages affect girls’ access to formal education

     Research Questions

1. What are the socio-cultural factors that hinder girls’ access to formal education in Ngvu sop village Ndu?
2. How does parents’ literacy level influence girls’ access to formal education in Ngvu sop village Ndu?

• To what extent does male preference affect girls’ access to formal education in Ngvu sop village Ndu?

1. How do early marriages and pregnancies affect girls’ formal education in Ngvu community?