GIRL CHILD HAWKING ITS
IMPLICATION ON THE ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF GIRL CHILD IN KANO MUNICIPAL
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background to the study
The girl child education in kano state came in to being when the federal government of Nigeria in collaboration with United Nation Children Education Fund (UNICEF) saw the need to minimize child abuse of hawking. Parents do not care much about educating their girl child, many of them believe that she will be some body’s property very soon, while others camouflage with religion. They do not realize that every religion includes Islam and Christianity encouraged women participation in education. Girl child is usually saddled to domestic work and majority of them are withdrawn from schools to the labour market to fend for the whole family through hawking or petty trading (Nigeria Tribune, September 3,2002). For this reason gender gap in education must be closed, especially by creating socio –economic and political conditions that will permit and encourage gild child to be in schools.
Involving children in hawking goods in the street is an emerging trend in Nigeria and an issue of concern. This trend is refer to as; child street trading (Ashimolowo, Aromolaran & Inegbedion, 2010), child street hawking (Mathias & Dada, 2013), juvenile street hawking (Udoh & Joseph, 2012) and child street vendor (Ugochukwu, Okeke, Onubogu &Edokwe, 2012). Children are preferred to adult in hawking goods because; they are less criminal and a cheap labour to the employer (Arhedo, Aluede &Arhedo, 2011; Anumaka, 2012).This led to increase in the number of children who roam the street daily hawking goods while those of their age are in school. Studies identified the age bracket of these children to fall between 10 and 19 years. (Ashimolowo, et al 2010; Ndem, Michiel, & Awa, 2012; Ugochukwu, et al 2012). Most of this children hawk before going to school in morning and continue after until late night. Street hawking has left many children out of school as they drop out, withdrawn by their parent or not enroll. School age children estimated to be 10.5 million are out of school in Nigeria (The Guardian, 2013). Though, this is not surprising, giving that majority of the population are living below the poverty line couple with the fact that, these children are being engaged in income generating activities to contribute to the sustenance of the family, however, it is embarrassing to a country with abundant natural resources like Nigeria. Until this is addressed, achieving education millennium development goal remains an elusion. Several studies exist on child street hawking with focus on behavioral problems (Udoh & Joseph, 2013; Ugodulunwa, et.al 2004), child Abuse (Akpan & Oluwabamide, 2010), Symptoms of Psychopathology (Ezenwa, 2011) and Socio-demographic characteristics (Ugochuku, et.al 2012). The present study intends to find out the effect of street hawking on academic performance of students in social studies, which is an indicator of students’ progress in school as it, shows how high or low students achieved. Academic performance is a reflection of the education of the child (Anumaka, 2012) and it is the desire of parent, their children should achieved high. Different factors are responsible for influencing academic performance of students. Studies, found some of these factors to be; students perception of teachers class room management (Okon, 2005), attendance in class (Nyame, 2010), learning environment (Ekanem, Apebende, & Ekefre, 2011), financial status of parent, and poor method of teaching (Okoji, 2013). In spite of research findings on how to improve, academic performance of students, low performance and failure in examination has been reported. This indicates that, there is a need to carry out more research on students’ academic performance. The finding of this study, it is hoped will help in cubing the problem of students’ poor academic performance.
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
The majority of Nigerian parents believe that children are their God sent helpers both for economic purpose and other wise. Most average Nigerians consider street hawking by children and some other child labor practices as part of the socialization process in the society. Culture has been identified as a sustaining agent of hawking. Some parents and guardians see street hawking as a socialization process relying heavily on their own developmental experiences. For example, they hawked when they were children and so tend to see nothing wrong with the trade. This is most regrettable. These parents or guardians fail to understand that times are changing and that society has degenerated so much from what it was, such that each day a child is sent out to hawk, he/she is increasingly being exposed to risks and hazards every minute.
In Nigeria today, hawking by children of school age is not entirely new in society. Street hawking creates room for lack of seriousness and interest in school work, poor memory, learning difficulty, moral laxity, truancy and under achievement.The problem of this study therefore is to investigate the effect of street hawking on the academic, behavioral and socio-emotional development of the child.
Statement Of The Problems
Trafficking deprives child victims the privilege to exercise their wide range of rights, including the right to belong and identify, the right to freedom, education among others. ANPPCAN(2010). As a result of this, the study on the causes, effects and remedies of street hawking in Nigeria is worth pursuing. It is hoped that the findings of this study will provide meaningful information as to the stoppage of the act in Nigeria and Africa as a whole. Female living in rural areas in Nigeria often lack access to quality education, good health and other basic needs which make their parents to entrust them in the hands of other family members who are financially upright to help them train their female. However, this custom has been abused by those family members or relatives because of the exposure of these female to hazardous work, prostitution and other forms of inhuman activities. This act posse a serious challenge to the growth of the Nigerian society, economically, socially and politically.
Objective of the study
The broad objective of this study is to investigate Girl child hawking its implication on the academic performance of the girl child in Kano municipal Local Government Area .
i. To determine implication of street hawking on girls child academic performace in secondary schools
ii. To investigate the causes of street hawking
iii. Find out the effect of street hawking on the academic development of the girls child?
iv. Determine the implication of street hawking on the behavioral development of the girl child?
v. Find out the effect of street hawking on the socio-emotional development of the girls child?
RESEARCH QUESTION
1. What are the effect of street hawking on girls child academic performace in secondary schools?
2. What are the causes of street hawking?
3. What is the effect of street hawking on the academic development of the girls child?
4. What is effect of street hawking on the behavioral development of the girl child?
5. What is the effect of street hawking on the socio-emotional development of the girls child?
Significance of the Study
This study will be of great importance, as it will provide necessary information on the causes, effects and remedies to street hawking in Nigeria. It will also provide further research in combating trafficking in Nigeria. The study will also be useful for further purposes and for further researches into street hawking within and outside the country.
Scope of the Study
The study will be restricted to the implication of street hawking in Kano Metrpolica local government area of Kano state. Five selected secondary schools will be used for the study.
Operational Definition of Terms
Child: Child in this study
means any person less than eighteen years of age
Trafficking: The recruitment, transfer, harbouring, or receipt
of a child for the purpose of exploitation.
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