Journal of Education and Practice www.iiste.org ISSN 2222-1735 (Paper) ISSN 2222-288X (Online) Vol.5, No.35, 2014 105 Prevalence of Acceleration among Male and Female Pupils in Selected Private Primary Schools in Sokoto Metropolis and its Implication on the Academic Performance of the Girl-child Njoku Joy N. (Ph.D) Department Of Educational Foundations, Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto E-Mail- jnnjoku3@gmail.com Abstract Acceleration of children particularly at primary and secondary schools has become a common and acceptable practice to many parents and teachers. This research focused on ascertaining the prevalence of acceleration among male and female pupils in private primary schools in Sokoto metropolis. A total of two hundred and thirty-six (236) pupils comprising of 141 males and 95 females were involved in the research. A simple questionnaire to identify pupils who skipped class and an academic performance test in English language and Mathematics were used for data collection. Frequency and percentages were used to ascertain the prevalence of skipping class among the male and female pupils while the mean, standard deviation and t-test were used to compare the performance of males who skipped class and females who skipped class. It was noted that males who skipped class performance better than females who skipped class though the general performance of females was better than that of males. This indicates that the criteria for accelerating the females were not strictly academic excellence. It was recommended that acceleration of pupils should be strictly based on academic performance and girls should not be accelerated for any other reasons. Introduction Acceleration of learners at various stages of education in Nigeria occurs mainly in grade skipping or reduction in number of years that would have been ideal for a programme of study. This is very much common in private primary schools where it is now seen as a yardstick for assessing the performance of schools. This practice has become a welcome idea to many parents in Nigeria and particularly in Sokoto state were parents would wish to fast forward the girls so that they can finish school early and marry. Acceleration of learners is not a bad practice but it should be done with caution to make sure that only the fit and gifted children are accelerated since it could have academic and social implication on the child. This study therefore aims at ascertaining the prevalence of acceleration among private primary school male and female pupils in Sokoto metropolis and to identify its implication on the academic performance of the girl-child. Statement of the Problem Women in nearly every generation and nationality have suffered untold deprivation and segregation not the fault of theirs but only because they are women. This condition has attracted the attention of many individuals and groups who are launching campaigns and awareness to stop this ugly trend. This deprivation cuts across education and other areas of social life. The Federal Republic of Nigeria in a bid to give women a sense of belonging stated in its 1981 National Policy on Education that there should be equal opportunity for education to all Nigerians children, irrespective of sex, tribe, disabilities etc. With the effort of governmental and non- governmental organizations in campaign for the education of the girl-child, there has been positive changes and improvement in the enrollment of girls in schools particularly in the Northern part of Nigeria. This improvement in the enrollment of the girl child is not without any further challenge. The parents who are now compelled to send their daughters to school do everything to make them finish earlier than the boys in order to go and marry. Most of them tend to accelerate the girls in schools irrespective of their academic ability. This development warranted the researcher to venture into ascertaining the prevalence of acceleration of male and female pupils in private primary schools in Sokoto metropolis and to assess the implication on the academic performance of the girl-child. Objectives of the Study The objectives of this study is to ascertain the prevalence of acceleration among male and female pupils in private primary schools in Sokoto metropolis. (ii) Find out if there is significant difference in the performance of accelerated male and female pupils in private primary schools in Sokoto metropolis. Research Questions The following questions serve as a guide to this research. (i). What is the prevalence of acceleration among male and female pupils in private primary schools in Sokoto metropolis? (ii). Is there any significant difference in the performance of accelerated male and female pupils in private