After several appeals by residents of Kurmin Kaduna in Igabi Local Government Area of Kaduna State for a junior secondary school, respite came when the Kaduna State Government granted the approval that has seen many girls, including housewives, make efforts to complete secondary education that was once stalled by lack of access and early marriage.
It’s been 20 years since Aisha Aliyu, 35, found herself within the four walls of a classroom. She now sits on a wooden desk she shares with two girls.
Draped in a navy-blue hijab that covers a white long-sleeve gown and trousers, which she wears as school uniform, Aisha became a student of the recently approved Junior Secondary School, Kurmin Kaduna, one of the state’s oldest communities. She joined her classmates to read from a textbook with a character that coincidentally bears her name.
“This is Aisha, she is 10 years old…” the mother of six, read, joining other students to chorus the content of the book, as a volunteer teacher standing in front of the classroom listened.
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Aisha joined Mardiyya Aminu, 33, Bilkisu Abdulrahman, 28, and three other housewives to return to school. The women, aged between 22 and 35 years, plan to complete their junior secondary education, which stalled due to lack of access and early marriage.
“We only had a primary school in Kurmin Kaduna,” Aisha said, referring to the community’s dilapidated primary school that has existed since 1975.
“In 2002, after completing my primary education, marriage became the only option,” she added.
The nearest junior secondary school from Kurmin Kaduna is Government Secondary School, Rafin Guza, which is less than three kilometers from Aisha’s community.
