GIRL CHILD EDUCATION: A PANACEA FOR VALUE RE-ORIENTATION AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN A POST-PANDEMIC NIGERIA

Abstract

Every society has its own system of transmitting norms, values, and beliefs through succeeding generations. From time immemorial up till the 1990s, formal, non-formal, andinformal education were engaged in Nigerian communities, to bring up children from infancy to adulthood, indeed throughout life. Community childcare and upbringing was the vogue in nurturing the young persons. However, with a morally decadent system, coupled with globalization and infusion of the western individualism into body polity, many of defining hallmarks such as etiquette, manners, respect, honour, hard work and integrity have been jettisoned. Adults and parent figures are immersed in making material and financial acquisitions and may go to any length to make money. In their quest for wealth, even young adults engage in money ritual killing. To truncate the present malaise, this calls for Nigeria's cultural awakening and value reorientation. To effect a drastic change in society, a veritable tool is basic education of children. Based on the perspective that when a girl child is educated, a whole nation is educated, this paper affirms that basic education of the girl child may be the right direction to jumpstart Nigeria's revival.