EFFECTS OF EARLY MARRIAGE ON ADOLESCENCE EDUCATION IN ENUGU NORTH

ABSTRACT

The study was carried out on the effects of early marriage on adolescence education in Enugu North. The researcher adopted a descriptive survey design in carrying out this research. The population of the study comprised all adolescents in Umunebe community in Enugu Enugu North L.G.A within the ages of 15-45 years numbering 600 from nine villages. Sample of 200 respondents was chosen from five villages using a simple random sampling technique as they are grouped. The researcher used a researcher structured questionnaire in collecting data from the respondents. The instrument for data collection was both face and content validated by experts in the department of Educational foundation in Enugu State University. Data collected for this study were analyzed using mean (x) and standard deviation (SD). The researcher used a mean score of 2.5 to reach decisions. The result of the study showed that poverty, the family's bid to maintain family honour and the importance attached to virginity, over protection of the girl-child by their parents, forced migration and slavery of the girl-child, are the cause of early marriage in Enugu North Local Government Area of Enugu State. Additionally, if Government should enact laws against early marriage, organize sensitization programmes against early marriage, and if punishments are meted out for parents who force their children into early marriage, then early marriage will be drastically reduced especially in Enugu North Local Government Area of Enugu State. The study recommended that women should be given equal opportunity and access to education so as to enable them develop self confidence and the ability to protect themselves from sexual violence and ill health.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Study

Early marriage, generally defined as marriage entered into before the age of 18, remains one of the most persistent obstacles to girls' educational attainment across Nigeria, and Enugu State's own traditional rulers council has, in recent years, formally outlawed the practice of girl-child marriage within the state, a symbolic and policy acknowledgement of just how entrenched a challenge it remains locally. Despite such interventions, early marriage continues to intersect closely with poverty, teenage pregnancy, and school dropout, particularly in rural communities where social norms surrounding marriage, family honour, and the protection of girls remain especially strong.

Recent research conducted specifically within Enugu State offers detailed, directly relevant evidence on this dynamic. A qualitative study examining factors associated with girl-child dropout from schools in rural areas of Enugu State, drawing on focus group discussions with parents and out-of-school girls, found that poverty, child marriage, and teenage pregnancy were the leading causes of school dropout, and that prevailing social norms which prioritise boys' educational interests over girls' often lead parents to view child marriage as a more viable investment for their daughters than continued schooling (Nnama-Okechukwu et al., 2025). This qualitative finding is reinforced by a related study examining the broader range of challenges limiting educational opportunities for girls in Enugu State, which similarly identified family-level and community-level constraints, including entrenched gender norms and economic hardship, as key barriers, and called specifically for social work intervention to design gender-responsive programmes addressing these unique challenges faced by girls (Nnama-Okechukwu, Nna-Udosen, Kalu, Ugwu, Ene, & Uzuegbu, 2024).

Beyond the immediate Enugu State context, wider Nigerian research on the sway of early marriage on girl-child education has documented similar underlying drivers, including the fear of premarital pregnancy and the cultural value placed on protecting family honour, both of which lead parents in various Nigerian contexts to view early marriage as a means of safeguarding their daughters, even at the direct cost of their educational continuation (Opesemowo & Odumosu, 2023). This pattern of family honour and protective motivations driving early marriage decisions, despite their educational cost, closely mirrors the causes documented specifically within Enugu communities and provides useful national-level corroboration for locally observed dynamics.

Taken together, this body of research, spanning direct qualitative evidence from rural Enugu State communities and broader Nigerian findings on the drivers of early marriage, confirms that poverty, family honour, protective parental motivations, and unequal gender norms consistently underlie the practice, with school dropout and curtailed educational attainment as a direct and well-documented consequence. It is against this established research background that the present study examines the effects of early marriage on adolescence education specifically within Enugu North Local Government Area of Enugu State.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

Despite growing policy attention to early marriage in Enugu State, including its formal prohibition by the state's traditional rulers council, the practice continues to undermine girls' educational attainment in the state's rural communities, as recent qualitative research from rural Enugu State has confirmed, identifying child marriage as among the leading causes of school dropout alongside poverty and teenage pregnancy (Nnama-Okechukwu et al., 2025; Nnama-Okechukwu, Nna-Udosen, Kalu, Ugwu, Ene, & Uzuegbu, 2024). While this existing research has documented the causes and educational consequences of early marriage broadly within Enugu State, there remains a need for community-specific evidence directly examining these dynamics within Enugu North Local Government Area, including the specific factors that impede women's effective education locally and the strategies communities and government might adopt to reduce the practice. Without such community-level evidence, interventions designed to address early marriage and its educational consequences risk being too broadly targeted to effectively address the specific dynamics at play in Enugu North. It is this gap that the present study seeks to address.

1.3 Purpose of the Study

The broad objective of this study is to assess the effects of early marriage on adolescence education in Enugu North Local Government Area of Enugu State. Specifically, the study aims at:

1. Ascertaining the causes of early marriage in Enugu North Local Government Area.
2. Determining the roles education plays in the development of women in Enugu North Local Government Area.
3. Finding out the factors which impede the effective education of women in Enugu North Local Government Area.
4. Finding out the strategies that will help to reduce early marriage in Enugu North Local Government Area.

1.4 Research Questions

1. What are the causes of early marriage in Enugu North Local Government Area?
2. What roles does education play in the development of women in Enugu North Local Government Area?
3. What factors impede the effective education of women in Enugu North Local Government Area?
4. What strategies will help to reduce early marriage in Enugu North Local Government Area?

1.5 Significance of the Study

This study will benefit government agencies and policy makers in Enugu State, by providing community-specific evidence to guide the enforcement of existing prohibitions on early marriage and the design of targeted sensitization programmes. It will benefit traditional and community leaders in Enugu North LGA, by clarifying the specific local factors that require attention. It will benefit parents and families, by highlighting the long-term costs of prioritising early marriage over their daughters' education. It will benefit girls and young women in the community, whose educational and life prospects are directly affected by the practice. Finally, the study will serve as a reference for future researchers examining early marriage and girl-child education in Nigeria.

1.6 Scope of the Study

This study is limited to examining the causes, educational consequences, and reduction strategies relating to early marriage among adolescents in Umunebe community and other villages within Enugu North Local Government Area of Enugu State.

1.7 Limitations of the Study

The sensitive nature of the topic may have led some respondents to underreport personal experiences or provide socially desirable rather than fully candid responses. The study's sample was drawn from five of nine villages within Umunebe community, which may limit full generalizability to the entire Enugu North Local Government Area. Time and resource constraints also limited the scope of data collection achievable within the study period.

1.8 Definition of Terms

Early Marriage: Marriage entered into before the age of 18, often involving one or both parties who are not yet legally or developmentally considered adults.

Adolescence: The developmental stage between childhood and adulthood, typically spanning the teenage years, during which significant physical, emotional, and social changes occur.

Girl-Child Education: The formal and informal educational opportunities available to female children and adolescents.

Family Honour: A cultural value placed on maintaining a family's reputation and social standing, often invoked as a justification for early marriage practices.

Sensitization Programme: An organized effort, typically involving public education and awareness campaigns, aimed at changing attitudes or behaviours around a specific social issue.

REFERENCES

Nnama-Okechukwu, C. U., Nna-Udosen, M. U., Kalu, M. C., Ugwu, F. C., Ene, J. C., & Uzuegbu, C. N. (2024). Challenges that limit educational opportunities for girls in Enugu State, Southeast Nigeria: Need for social work intervention. Journal of Human Rights and Social Work. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41134-024-00358-4

Nnama-Okechukwu, C., et al. (2025). Prioritising marriage over education: Factors associated with girl-child dropout from schools in rural areas of Enugu State, Nigeria. Journal of Human Rights and Social Work. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41134-025-00384-w

Opesemowo, O. A. G., & Odumosu, E. T. (2023). The sway of early marriage on the girl child education. Journal of Culture and Values in Education.