HIGH RATE OF FEMALE SCHOOL DROPOUT: IMPLICATION FOR WOMEN POLITICAL PARTICIPATION IN NIGERIA

Education empowers members of the society to function effectively in all facets of life including in political spheres. However, the standard of education is generally poor in Nigeria. It is even more worrisome when in the midst of a poor education system, many pupils and students cannot complete their academic programs. UNESCO has declared Nigeria the capital of school dropouts in the world and research has shown that the majority of these dropouts are female students. Again, Nigeria is rated low in the political participation of women. It is generally believed that there is a link between education and women's participation in politics. This study x-rays the implication of female school dropout on women's political participation in Nigeria. It employs multi-regression analysis using a neoclassical growth model with data drawn from V-med and UNESCO databases from 1980 to 2021. The result reveals that a unit increase in female school dropout rate at the primary school level (FDPRL) and female school drop-out rate in secondary schools (FDRSH) negatively and significantly reduce women's political participation in Nigeria by 0.011% and 0.021% respectively. Comparably, the female completion rate in primary schools (FCRPR) increases the political participation of women in Nigeria though at an insignificant rate of 0.0014% while the female completion rate in secondary schools (FCRSS) increases political participation of women in Nigeria significantly by 0.0062%. Policymakers at the local and global level should as a matter of urgency, double female education efforts in other to reverse the trend of female school dropouts as it will improve women's participation in politics.