The relevance of gender equality to the development process underscores the need for creating opportunities for girls and women to have access to all levels of education – primary, secondary and tertiary. Women require formal education for self and national development. Since Nigeria has a significant population of girls and women, it is imperative that their education is given a pride of place. This paper examines the policies that have been made to promote the education of girls and women at the three levels of education (basic, post-basic and tertiary) in Nigeria, and the situation of girl-child and women’s education in the country. The paper also discusses the challenges confronting education of girls and women, such as high number of out-of-school children caused by child labor practices, early marriage and teenage pregnancy; inadequate female participation rates in higher education; etc. Some actions that could be taken to address the challenges are recommended. These include equalizing access to quality education, provision of welfare support for pupils/students, the establishment of an open school system, enforcing laws on compulsory school attendance at the basic education level, economic empowerment of women, and the promotion of science and technological education among women.

• Ramoni Ayobami Alani(Department of Educational Administration Faculty of Education University of Lagos, Lagos, Nigeria) Corresponding Author