Education and Development in Niger
Research over the past thirty years has suggested that education increases quality of life through improving levels of nutrition and health, and reducing fertility. Despite the fact that the apparent link between increased levels of primary school education for girls and decreased levels of fertility, as first proposed by Cochrane in 1979, has yet to be explained or truly understood, the relationship is now widely accepted as causal. The fact that Niger has some of the worst education statistics in the world is attracting increasing attention from Nigeriens and the development community alike. The primary school enrolment rate in Niger for 1993-94 was 28.5%, and of this low number, only 36% were girls, mostly from urban areas; in the rural areas girls often make up as little as 10% of the enrolled pupils1.
1
Ministère de l'Éducation Nationale de l'Enseignement Supérieur et de la Recherche. (1993) Problématique de la Socialisation des Filles au Niger. Niamey, Niger.
If the relationship is as influential as is anticipated, education will be particularly important for Nigerien gins, who become wives and mothers at a very young age: 75% of adolescent girls have at least one child2. Niger's vital health statistics are also among the worst in the world with maternal mortality rates of 700 per 100 000 and, perhaps the most startling indicator, an infant and child mortality rate of 326 per 1000 3. The overall levels of girls' education could have a direct impact upon the health and quality of life of their children and families.
2
Kourgueni, Idrissa Alichina, Bassirou Garba and Bernard Barrere (eds.). (1992) Enquête Démographique et de Santé Niger. Columbia, Maryland: Macro International Inc.
3 Ibid.
Purpose of the Study
This study explored qualitative aspects of the relationship between formal education and decreased fertility, as well as factors which appear to confound it. In addition, the study investigated the influences that education systems outside the formal schools have on this relationship. Central to the study was the need to explore more profoundly the assumption that the level of girls' education could have a direct impact on total fertility rates. While the outcomes of the research are anticipated to have important policy implications for both primary school curriculum change and larger scale programme development, on a smaller and more immediate scale, the issue of understanding the synergy between education and fertility is central to Niger's future development; with a fertility rate of 7.4 live births per woman, the country's population is one of the most rapidly increasing in Sub-Saharan Africa and is set to double in 22 years4.
4
Ministère du Développement Social, de la Population et de la Femme. (1994) Population et Développement au Niger: Un Appel à l'Action. Niamey, Niger.
Background
Beginning at the end of January 1995, this study was carried out over a period of three and a half months against a backdrop of strikes, protests, and political and economic unrest. Schools and health centres remained closed until the middle of March, although most health centres offered a minimum of emergency health care throughout the strikes. One of the central issues of the strike was salaries: most government employees had not been paid their salaries for anywhere from four to seven months. Elections had taken place in January, but, investigations into election rigging and the new majority's refusal to accept the President's choice of new Prime Minister prevented the National. Assembly from addressing the causes of the strikes until March. While government employees have returned to work, continuing demonstrations and day-long strikes, particularly on the part of secondary and university students, threaten to force the government into cancelling the 1994-95 school year. If this were to happen it would be the fourth cancellation of a school year due to time lost over salary disputes in the past six years.
While these problems and issues retain a prominent position on the daily agenda of those living in the capital of Niamey, the 85% of the population that live in rural areas must incorporate their responses to change in a manner complimentary to the routines dictated by seasonal and cultural cycles. In addition to data collected at the national level, six weeks were spent at the village level attempting to gauge the degree of impact and reaction to those issues from the rural perspective.
Research Methods
The first three weeks were spent contacting government officials in the Ministries of Health and Education. Key individuals were interviewed with regard to the current state of affairs, new programmes, future plans for change, and the impact of the strikes on the government's ability to provide health care or primary school education. Key individuals in the donor community were also interviewed regarding current projects, plans for the future and for reactions to the impact of the strike upon both their own projects and on Niger's ability to respond to increasing health and environmental pressures. Agencies and organisations contacted include the World Bank, USAID, GTZ, CIDA, the Family Health and Demography Project (funded by USAID), the condom social marketing project SOMARC, CARE International, UNICEF, and the International Women's Club Education Project.
The second phase of the research study was primarily spent in two villages in the eastern department of Zinder over a period of six weeks. The Hausa villages of Roufao and Doungou were selected on the basis of their proximity to both a dispensary and a primary school. The village of Doungou has a population of approximately 2000, and has both a school and dispensary in the village. It also has a small pharmacy and a representative from the Agricultural Extension service living in the village. The district capital of Matameye is 17 kilometres away down a very poor gravel road. Roufao is the smaller of the two villages with approximately 1000 inhabitants. Residents must walk three kilometres to the village of Dan Barto to go to the dispensary or primary school. Dan Barto is situated on the main, paved road from Kano, Nigeria to Zinder, and is five kilometres from the border. The district capital of Matameye is approximately 30 kilometres down the main road.
The research team consisted of myself and two Nigerien women who participated at all levels of the research process both as interpreters and research assistants. The research began with a broad-based investigation of the villages' resources, perceptions of local problems and challenges, and then focused on the issues of family planning and primary school education. Focus group formats were used, working with the same groups of older fathers, younger fathers, older mothers and younger mothers over several discussion sessions. Following the focus group discussions, individuals were identified for in-depth interviews. Life histories were recorded with women who had received some primary school education, and, in order to gain an understanding of the male perspective, their husbands were also interviewed. Women who had begun to use family planning methods were also identified and asked to participate in in-depth interviews. Friendships were developed with several individuals in both villages, and these individuals played important roles as key informants. In Doungou the nurse running the local dispensary, the guard of our compound and one of the older mothers were invaluable in discussing issues in depth and clarifying details. In the Roufao/Dan Barto area, the head nurse of the dispensary and the guard of our compound fulfilled the same role. In addition, village chiefs, local marabouts, traditional mid-wives, local health staff and school directors were interviewed. Following the work in the villages, government officials at the Department level were asked to respond to an outline of the initial findings.
For comparative purposes the focus group format was repeated in the predominately Hausa district of Zongo in the capital of Niamey. Groups of older and younger men, and older and younger women were interviewed using the same question outlines developed during the village interviews. Individual women were then identified for in-depth interviews regarding their experience of primary school education and/or acceptance of family planning methods. School directors at the two local schools and health staff at the dispensary were also interviewed.
Following data collection in local communities, visits were again made to the government officials dealing with education and family planning. Individuals responsible for developing and supporting initiatives to increase levels of primary education or family planning were asked to respond to a summary of the initial findings both as members of their respective ministries and as individuals. Interviews were also conducted with additional NGO's and key informants including locally-based women's groups and an organisation of female teachers working to raise the level of girls' enrolment in primary school through awareness-raising activities and supporting alternative informal educational opportunities for girls and women.
