Kano rolls out guidelines to return married girls, young mothers to school

The Kano State Government has introduced a new set of guidelines aimed at helping married adolescent girls and young mothers who dropped out of school return to complete their education.

The Re-entry Education Guidelines, developed by the state Ministry of Education in partnership with ACE Charity and supported by the Malala Fund, provide a framework for reintegrating married adolescents into the formal education system.

Speaking after the launch in Kano, the Head of Office of ACE Charity, Mrs Eno Simon, said the policy was designed to ensure that marriage or childbirth does not permanently end a girl’s educational journey.

She said the guidelines were informed by findings from a study conducted by ACE Charity with support from the Malala Fund, which showed that the overwhelming majority of married adolescent girls still aspire to continue their education.

According to Simon, 99 per cent of the married adolescents surveyed expressed a willingness to return to school if given the opportunity.

She identified financial hardship, childcare responsibilities, transportation costs, domestic obligations and social stigma as the major factors keeping many married girls out of school.

Simon said the study also found that contrary to common assumptions, many communities were supportive of girls’ education after marriage. She noted that traditional and religious leaders expressed willingness to support efforts to reintegrate married girls into schools.

She added that many husbands also indicated readiness to allow their wives to continue their education if practical challenges such as school costs, childcare and flexible learning schedules were addressed.

To tackle these barriers, the guidelines recommend flexible learning pathways, strengthened learning centres, childcare and psychosocial support services, training for facilitators, community awareness campaigns and active participation of traditional and religious institutions.

Simon explained that the document assigns clear responsibilities to government ministries, schools, civil society organisations, community groups and development partners to ensure effective implementation of the policy.

She said the success of the initiative would be measured by the number of married adolescents and young mothers who are able to return to school, remain in the system and complete their education.

She called on government agencies, development partners, community leaders and other stakeholders to support the implementation of the guidelines, stressing that every girl should have the opportunity to pursue her education regardless of her marital status.