Off-Campus Admission and Girls’ Vulnerability: Spaces for Immorality and Sexual Oppression

This study was conducted to investigate how the off-campus mode of university admission makes the girl-child vulnerable and creates spaces for immorality and sexual oppression. The study was conducted using questionnaires and oral interviews, both done online due to Covid-19 preventive measures. Using Gayatri Spivak’s idea of “The Female Subaltern†, the paper argues that admitting students on off-campus mode with little or no financial support increases girls’ vulnerability to such vices as prostitution and sexual abuse by ‘rich’ men, who take advantage of the girls’ suffering. The paper observes that this has negative effects on the girls’ education and lives as they may contract sexually transmitted infections, leaving them traumatized. This development also compromises the morality of university students, who are taken as role models in society. This immoral behaviour impacts negatively on the girls’ studies. The study observes that while the intentions to introduce this mode was in good faith, to ensure increased access to tertiary education, the challenges faced therein (regarding girls’ welfare) go a long way in defeating this rather good intention, and it becomes a gender issue considering the vulnerability of the girl-child, as men take advantage of the compromised welfare of these girls. With these girls losing their moral well-being, they cease from being reliable citizens after graduating from the university; not mentioning the fact that their life span is reduced should they contract deadly sexually transmitted infections.