Debating Gender Equity in Access to Higher Education: An Empirical Investigation into the Female Participation in Northern Nigeria.

Abstract

This paper will examine the issue of debates sounding gender equity in access to higher education specifically focused on female enrolment in university education in Nigeria, with specific attention to northern Nigeria region with one of the universities in the north as a case. While it was clearly stated in the constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria that stipulated equal educational opportunities in respect of gender, currently, there is unequal enrolment between boys and girls in access to universities in the location where the study under was selected and its catchment areas compared with the other parts of the country. To gain an insight into this matter of contention, this case study employed a semi-structured in-depth interview to seek the views of the policymakers' and policy implementers' regarding the issues surrounding this impediment challenge. Furthermore, the paper employed document analyses to review policy documents and statistics of applicants wishing to secure admission into Nigerian universities. This study has shown that there are many problems attributed to this phenomenon including, among others, social upbringing, cultural orientation and social-economic status. In response, the study strongly recommends strategies to encourage female participation including compulsory female education in Nigeria at the basic level to improve their access to university education.