Cultural Barriers to Education of the Girl Child and Its Implication to Educational Attainment of the Oroko Children in Secondary Schools in the Kumba Municipality

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the cultural practices that pose a barrier to female educational attainment of the Oroko people. Looking at the cultural barrier to the education of the girl child and its implication on educational attainment, the researcher realized that culture has played a great part in the attainment of education of the girl child in the Oroko land. The population of this study was made up of three secondary schools in the Kumba municipality. The instrument for data collection was the questionnaire. Data was analyzed by the use of descriptive and inferential statictics. The results showed that cultural barriers such as early marriages and the preference of the boy child’s education over that of a girl child affect the girls’ educational attainment in the Oroko land. Based on the finding the researcher recommended that the government should open schools in all villages so as to encourage the girls to go to school, the few girls who are already in school should try and impress their parents so that can change their mentality and conception that they have concerning female education.