Drama Communication as an Instrument for addressing Out-of-School Girls’ Phenomenon in Nigeria

Abstract

United Nations Education Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 2022 stated that: “Nigeria has about 20 million out-of-school children. Globally, the organization submitted that there are 244 million children and youth between the ages of 6 and 18 worldwide (who) are still out of school (Ogunode and Adanna, 2022). A survey conducted by the United Nations International Children's Education Fund (UNICEF) indicates that the population of out-of-school children in Nigeria has risen from 10.5 million to 18.5 million, making it the world’s third highest of which sixty percent are girls. For this challenge to be effectively addressed, it is essential to seek a strategic communication intervention such as drama communication to disseminate the issues of out-of-school phenomenon, especially in areas where it is prevalent. Drama enacts vivid situations that will be explored by the participants, inviting them to find out more about the process of how a situation like girl-child dropout exists. It will lead them into comparing perspectives in the here and now, thereby working towards identifying the inherent problems with a deeper understanding of the challenge thereby proffering solutions. Anchoring this discourse on the Constructivist Learning Theory and Experiential Learning Theory, this paper explores the potentials of drama communication towards addressing the issue of out-of-school girls’ phenomenon in Nigeria. The paper provides an overview of drama and its capacity for encouraging dialogue for social progress, as well as transforming the mindset of the population towards reducing the incidence of girl-child drop-out. The paper concludes that there is power in drama communication towards promoting and sensitizing the populace and it a potential effective instrument and tool for addressing the problem of out-of-school girls’ phenomenon in Nigeria. This paper recommends that there is a need to make the education of the girl-child a media agenda through the use of drama communication in order to reduce the rate of out-of-school girls in Nigeria.

Keywords: Drama Communication; Tool; Out-of-school Girls; Girl-Child Dropout; Out-of-school Girls’ Phenomenon; Nigeria.