Schoolgirls, Not Brides: Education as a Shield against Child Marriage

This study evaluates a scholarship programme in Niger designed to keep adolescent girls in secondary school and prevent child marriage. Using a randomized controlled trial over three years, the programme halved both school dropout rates and marriage rates among participating girls. The intervention also increased educational and career aspirations for both girls and their parents, with no negative spillover effects on non-participating girls.

Key points

• Scholarship intervention reduced school dropout rates by half among treated girls
• Marriage rates were halved for girls in the programme after three years
• Girls' and parents' educational and career aspirations increased significantly
• No displacement effect: non-treatment girls' education and marriage outcomes were not adversely affected
• Financial aid for education shown to be effective in transforming adolescent girls' lives

Limitations

The document does not provide details on programme costs, sustainability, implementation fidelity, or longer-term outcomes beyond the three-year period. It also does not describe the scholarship amount, eligibility criteria, or mechanisms through which the intervention changed behaviour.