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Sokoto, Nigeria \u2013<\/strong> Each time her curious seven-year-old child returned home from school with homework, 28-year-old Habiba Abubakar knew it was time to take him to her neighbour, whom the child called \u201caunt\u201d, even though they were not related by blood, who had been his saviour every time he wanted to stand in front of his class and receive a standing ovation.<\/p>\n But that changed in 2021, when Abubakar enrolled herself in the Women Centre for Continuing Education (WCCE) in Sokoto State, northwest Nigeria.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve always felt ashamed when Muhammad told me that they\u2019ve been given another assignment,\u201d she told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n This frustration, coupled with her enthusiasm for learning English, pushed her to return to the classroom 13 years after she left.<\/p>\n Now, the mother of four said she helps all the children with their assignments.<\/p>\n The interruption in Abibaker\u2019s studies is not uncommon across northern Nigeria, especially in rural communities, where girls are more likely to drop out of school due to cultural practices, such as early marriage, or poverty, which forces parents to make gender-biased decisions by enrolling male children over females.<\/p>\n UNICEF reported that more than half of the girls in the region are not attending school.<\/p>\n Jennifer Agbaji, a social accountability professional and the executive director at Basileia Vulnerable Persons Rights Initiative (BVPRI),\u00a0a Nigerian nonprofit dedicated to advancing the rights of women, girls, and other vulnerable populations through education and leadership development, viewed the initiative as a positive and necessary intervention.<\/p>\n Nonetheless, she said second-chance education should not be limited to classroom-based learning alone.<\/p>\n \u201cIf access to education depends solely on physical attendance, many women who face mobility, childcare, economic, health, or security challenges may still be excluded.\u201d<\/p>\n WCCE, commissioned by the then-military governor of Sokoto State, Navy Captain Abdul Rasheed Adisa Raji, was founded in 1997 to provide adult education and vocational skills to women in the state.<\/p>\n Since then, Nuraddeen Ladan Dogon Daji, a physics teacher, told Al Jazeera that the centre has trained many students, some of whom now practise professions, such as teaching and nursing, helping to address the country\u2019s shortage of skilled professionals.<\/p>\n Unlike other public schools, where pupils spend six years, the centre designed a three-year curriculum for its primary section, from adult one to three.<\/p>\n In the secondary sections, students spend three years each in the junior and senior levels.<\/p>\n In their final years, they also sit for the mandatory Junior Leaving School Certificate of Education (JLSCE) and Senior School Certificate of Education (SSCE) examinations.<\/p>\n To help these students realise their dreams, the centre also offers free education, benefitting from the state government\u2019s effort to reduce the number of out-of-school children.<\/p>\n This has helped students like Abubakar, who, following her divorce, relied heavily on her father\u2019s support to stay in school.<\/p>\n \u201cWe used to pay 5,000 naira ($3.5) per term, but were later told to stop because the state government has given us a chance to study for free,\u201d Abubakar told Al Jazeera from her home in the Kofar Atiku neighbourhood.<\/p>\n But free tuition does not eliminate all costs. Students still have to pay for transport, books, and other daily expenses.<\/p>\n According to Agbaji, beyond poverty and early marriage, there are several structural barriers, including restrictive gender norms that prioritise domestic responsibilities over education.<\/p>\n She said many women lose confidence after years away from formal education, and in some communities, education is still viewed as an investment for boys rather than a lifelong right for women.<\/p>\n In her opinion, these norms often combine to make re-entry into education difficult, even when opportunities exist. In her journey to becoming a nurse, Fatima Attahir, who left school after primary school 12 years ago, found it necessary to go back to the classroom and start afresh.<\/p>\n To support herself while studying, she helps with her family\u2019s trading activities when she is not in class.<\/p>\n She said that although some of her friends already saw the decision as time-consuming, she is not satisfied with the system\u2019s duration.<\/p>\n \u201cI wish the primary section was also up to six years,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cBecause to become a nurse, I need to have a solid background in the core subjects.\u201d Some of the students Al Jazeera spoke to said their greatest challenge is juggling academic activities with household responsibilities.<\/p>\n Before her divorce, Abubakar said she would wake up earlier than usual to prepare breakfast, clean the house, and get herself and her children ready for school.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I finally set my foot in class, I was already tired, and as the lectures went on, I would start slumbering because I hadn\u2019t had enough sleep.\u201d She said the pressure became worse when her youngest child frequently fell ill, sometimes forcing her to leave class before lectures ended.<\/p>\n After her divorce, transport costs became another obstacle. \u201cSince I was no longer married, my parents were the ones paying for the transport fares, but when they couldn\u2019t, I would not go to school because I couldn\u2019t afford it myself,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Later, her father gave her 10,000 naira to start making and selling local snacks and small chops.<\/p>\n The small business now helps her cover transport costs and other school-related expenses. Abubakar still credits the neighbour who used to help her son with homework before she returned to school.<\/p>\n When transport costs became difficult to afford after her divorce, her parents stepped in when they could, while her father later provided the capital that helped her start a small business and continue her studies.<\/p>\n Her experience is not unique.<\/p>\nHow the system works<\/h2>\n
The challenges<\/h2>\n