tion of Christian mission schools in 
the north and spent little on govern- 
ment schools. 
The pattern in the rest of Nigeria 
was very different. In the non-Muslim 
areas of the country, mission and gov- 
ernment schools grew rapidly during 
the colonial period. The result of this 
differential policy was the develop- 
ment of vast regional imbalances in 
the extent and level of Western edu- 
cation in the country. This affected 
the types of occupational choices open 
to Nigerians from different regions. 
Despite a longer tradition of literacy 
in Arabic in the north, few northerners 
were eligible for those civil service 
jobs that required literacy in English, 
the language of government business. 
This was one of many issues in the 
tragic civil war that tore Nigeria apart 
in the 1960s. The current goal of en- 
rolling all northern children in public 
schools, which offer training in Eng- 
lish and secular subjects, has, there- 
fore, a strong and valid political ra- 
tionale. 
Western education has met a mixed 
reception in northern Nigeria. While 
it has been increasingly accepted for 
boys — as an addition to, not a sub- 
stitute for, Islamic education — many 
parents are reluctant to enroll their 
daughters in primary school. Never- 
theless, there are already many more 
children waiting to get into school than 
there are classrooms and teachers to 
accommodate them. If the trend con- 
tinues, it will almost certainly have 
important, if unintended, conse- 
quences for purdah and the system 
of child enterprise that supports it. 
Children who attend Western school 
continue to attend Arabic school, and 
thus are removed from the household 
for much of the day. For many women 
this causes considerable difficulty in 
doing daily housework. It means in- 
creased isolation and a curtailment of 
income-producing activity. It creates 
a new concern about where to obtain 
the income for children’s marriages. 
As a result of these practical pres- 
sures, the institution of purdah will 
inevitably be challenged. Also, the 
schoolgirl of today may develop new 
skills and new expections of her role 
as a woman that conflict with the tra- 
ditional ways. As Western education 
takes hold, today’s young traders may 
witness a dramatic change in Hausa 
family life — for themselves as adults 
and for their children. □ 
