Imagined Futures: Indigenous Girls and Higher Education Access in Nigeria

This University of Bath policy brief presents Indigenous students’ views and experiences regarding access and participation in university education in Northern Nigeria and highlights the key enablers and barriers.

• Many men see university education for women as a threat to traditional roles, often associating it with pride, waywardness, disobedience, or loss of cultural values, including marriage prospects.
• Women, while often eager to attend university, often feel anxious due to fears of societal judgment, forced marriages, and reduced opportunities for finding a partner.
• The challenges go beyond the lack of infrastructure or resources. Beliefs and values about university education play a major role in limiting access.
•Some participants expressed the need for financial support and for universities to be located closer to their communities to ensure cultural and social values are not undermined.
• There are concerns that universities could promote behaviours seen as contrary to community values.
• Participants in the study noted that their communities often saw Islamic or traditional education as more compatible with their values and religion compared to Western university education.
• Some participants, especially boys, expressed concerns that even with a university degree, securing employment remains uncertain. This discourages them and their parents from prioritising university education.