She made this statement while presenting a report she conducted on the challenges facing girls’ education in Oyo State.
Speaking on the various issues confronting secondary school girls, she urged the Oyo State Government to implement security measures to curb the violent clashes between cult gangs in public schools. These frequent security breaches, she said, pose a danger to schoolgirls and negatively impact their attendance, learning outcomes, and overall school experience.
Orowale explained that the challenges were identified during research involving 180 secondary school girls from 18 public secondary schools within the Ibadan metropolis.
According to her, “there is a spate of insecurity in Oyo State schools with incidents of breaches by trespassers, violent clashes between cult gangs in secondary schools, and major thefts on school premises.
“Reports of school gang activities are also closely linked with the heightened trend of illicit drug use and substance abuse among secondary school students, particularly males in Oyo State,” she added.
“During these violent clashes, normal school and classroom activities are disrupted as students and teachers are forced to flee the school premises and nearby environs for fear of being attacked.
“However, such panic-induced flights cause schoolgirls to get injured or run into violent gang members, exposing them to rape, attacks, or other forms of violence. These threats to schoolgirls’ safety affect their school attendance, learning outcomes, and overall experience of being in school.”
Out of the 50 million girls enrolled globally between 2015 and 2023, 15.3 million girls are currently out of school in Nigeria.
Other challenges highlighted include a lack of running water and safe toilets, inadequate infrastructure, sexual and gender-based violence, bullying, a shortage of guidance counsellors, limited inclusion of learners with special needs, ineffective language of instruction in rural areas, and narrow instructional approaches.
When asked why the research focused only on public secondary schools, Mrs. Ifaturoti explained that girls in government schools are more vulnerable due to their socioeconomic backgrounds. She added that the initiative aims to equip every girl with the relevant skills to overcome the barriers preventing them from achieving their dreams.
Mr. Adewole called on the media to inform relevant stakeholders about these challenges so that necessary steps can be taken to provide a conducive learning environment for students in the state.