EARLY MARRIAGE AND THE EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT
OF THE GIRL CHILD IN BEKWARRA LOCAL
GOVERNMENT AREA OF CROSS RIVER STATE, NIGERIA
Patrick Elizabeth Odije; Usua, Oku Bassey (Ph. D)
Olofu, Paul Agbade (Ph. D); Ali Patrick
& Ekpe, Victor Essien
Department of Continuing Education and Development Studies
University of Calabar
Calabar, Nigeria
Corresponding Author: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Abstract
This study focused on influence of early marriage on the educational attainment of the girl
child in Bekwarra Local Government Area of Cross River State, Nigeria. Survey research
design was used for the study. The population of this study consisted of 1,146 female Junior
Secondary School students in Bekwarra Local Government Area of Cross River State. The
sample of this study consisted of 116 female junior secondary school 2 and 3 students
carefully selected from 16 junior secondary schools in Bekwarra Local Government Area of
Cross River State. The sampling technique adopted for the study was simple random
sampling. The instrument used for data collection was a structured questionnaire titled:
Early Marriage and Girl-Child Educational Attainment Questionnaire (EMGEAQ). The data
obtained analyzed using linear regression. The hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of
significance. Major findings of the study indicated that there is significant influence of low
self-esteem and stigmatization due to early marriage on the educational attainment of the
girl-child in Bekwarra Local Government Area of Cross River State. In line with the findings
of the study, it was recommended that gender-based NGOs should organize seminars and
counseling sessions for parents in order to discourage them from giving out their daughters
early in marriage.
Key words: Girl-Child, Early Marriage and Educational Attainment. DOWNLOAD FULL PDF