Abuja: An NGO, Participatory Communication for Gender Development Initiative (PAGED Initiative), has called for the creation of gender-responsive school re-entry pathways to enable married adolescent girls and young mothers to return to formal education. The organisation also advocated the extension of Nigeria’s Universal Basic Education (UBE) from nine years to 12 years to ensure girls complete secondary education before exiting the basic education cycle.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, Ms. Ummi Bukar, Programme Director of PAGED Initiative, made the call during a training for journalists under the Media Advocacy Project for Married Adolescents and Young Mothers. The project seeks to address educational exclusion among girls who were married before completing their schooling and to prevent future occurrences through policy reforms and public awareness campaigns.
“We are trying to see how we can get married adolescents back into formal education and also prevent girls from being married off before completing their education. We are advocating for policies that will extend Universal Basic Education from nine years to 12 years and make re-entry pathways easier for married adolescents to return to school,” Bukar stated.
Bukar explained that the project, supported by Malala Fund, was being implemented in collaboration with community members, traditional leaders, CSOs, and media practitioners to amplify the voices of married adolescent girls and young mothers. She identified poverty, cultural norms, and family responsibilities as some of the major barriers preventing married adolescent girls from returning to school.
According to her, many girls were withdrawn from school because their parents could not afford the costs of education or failed to prioritise girls’ education. She added that some husbands and members of their extended families often discourage married girls from pursuing further education, while childcare responsibilities and domestic workloads also limit their opportunities.
“A lot of people believe that once a girl is married, her education should end. Many of these girls are burdened with household responsibilities and receive little support to continue their education. We want government policies that make it compulsory and easier for these girls to return to school, rather than leaving it to the discretion of family members,” she emphasized.
She also noted that although policies such as the Child Rights Act and the Universal Basic Education Act support access to education, implementation remained weak. She said the recently developed National Re-entry Pathways Framework for married adolescents and young mothers offered a new opportunity for states to institutionalize support for girls seeking to return to school.
Bukar disclosed that some states had begun adopting the framework, with Kaduna State validating the document and Kano State concluding plans for its launch. She urged parents and communities to prioritize girls’ education and support adolescent girls and young mothers to take advantage of second-chance education opportunities.
“Many girls are not even aware that they can return to school through second-chance education platforms. They should not lose hope. Education remains important and they should take advantage of available opportunities to complete their schooling,” she said.
Also speaking, Mr. Iliyasu Ibrahim, Strategic Communication Consultant for the project, stressed the need for sustained national attention on re-entry pathways for out-of-school girls. Ibrahim said the challenge of school dropout among adolescent girls was not limited to the project’s target states of Borno, Kano, and Kaduna but remained a national concern.
“The expectation is that journalists will help create a national conversation around re-entry pathways because this problem exists across the country. There are girls in different parts of Nigeria who dropped out of school due to marriage, poverty, or other circumstances and never returned,” he remarked.
According to him, media advocacy can help drive policy reforms, challenge harmful cultural norms, and promote livelihood interventions that address some of the root causes of school dropout among girls. He urged policymakers, traditional institutions, and religious leaders to support efforts aimed at expanding educational opportunities for adolescent girls and young mothers.
The participants said the training would improve gender-sensitive reporting that would shift narratives, amplify grassroots voices, and generate public demand for policy reforms supporting re-entry into formal schooling. Miss Gloria Attah, Reporter, S24 Television, said the training enhanced her understanding of the educational challenges facing married adolescents and young mothers, including the social, economic, and cultural barriers limiting their access to education.
“I now have a better appreciation of the importance of policies and interventions that support re-enrollment, flexible learning options, psychosocial support, and community sensitization. The training reinforced the idea that education remains a powerful tool for improving the lives of young mothers and breaking cycles of poverty and inequality especially in northern Nigeria, which I will amplify in my reportage,” she said.
Ms. Palma Ileye, Reporter, Blueprint Newspaper, emphasized the need for sustained media advocacy to amplify public dialogue that promotes inclusive education systems. “This will eventually raise awareness about policies, programs, and initiatives that enable young mothers to return to school, while holding governments and institutions accountable for implementing them. In addition, it can also help shift the narrative from blame and judgment to support and inclusion for adolescent mothers,” she noted.
The Media Advocacy Project for Married Adolescents and Young Mothers seeks to mobilize media support for policy reforms and social change that will improve access to education for vulnerable girls across Nigeria.