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Child Labour: EXPANDING EDUCATION VITAL, By Dr Oishee Mukherjee, 6 July 2017 Print E-mail

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New Delhi, 6 July 2017

Child Labour

EXPANDING EDUCATION VITAL

By Dr Oishee Mukherjee

 

India recently ratified two fundamental conventions against child labour -- the Minimum Age Convention 1973 (No.138) and the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention 1999 (No. 182) -- at the International Labour Organization (ILO) in Geneva. With this, the nation became the 175th member of the 187 member States to do so.

 

Further, the country reiterates its commitment to the Child and Labour (Prohibition and Prevention) amendment Act, passed last year which completely prohibits employment or work of children below 14 years in any occupation or process and also prohibits the employment of adolescents (14 to 18 years) for hazardous occupations and processes. Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya who was in Geneva was upbeat about the ratification by the government and stated that it “maintained that elimination of child labour is crucial for the attainment of sustainable development goals by 2010”.  

 

While theoretically speaking the fresh action needs to be lauded and welcomed, the situation at the grass-root level does need to be examined thoroughly. It is a known fact that a significant percentage of children do not go to school and even if they do, their attendance is erratic. The problem of drop-outs from Class III to Class V is no secret. Most of these children either work as farm labourers, or where their parents work or in some relative’s farm. While a section may work on a part time basis, others may do full time to add to the family’s meagre income.  

 

In the present situation, however, the recent ban may not drastically change the reality and have much effect. The fact is that unless poverty is tackled effectively, child labour cannot be abolished totally. This is somewhat akin to removing liquor shops a little distance from State highways but such actions do not stop drivers from drinking as they just drive for around four-five minutes, or even less, and find a liquor shop!

 

For much of human history and across different cultures, children less than 17 years old have contributed to family welfare in a variety of ways. Though one cannot deny that poverty and impoverishment in Third World countries is the biggest cause of child labour, the lack of availability of schools in the neighbourhood and an environment conducive to the promotion of education, has further resulted in child labour. A BBC report, similarly, concluded that poverty and inadequate public education infrastructure are some of the causes of child labour in India.  

 

Delving on to statistics, the last year four years have actually seen stagnation, if not an increase, in the prevalence of child labour. Last year, the UN reported that 168 million children across the world were still being ruthlessly exploited despite stringent laws against child labour. Added to this is the alarming situation in recent years of child refugees and trafficking, the latter problem having taken severe dimensions in the country.    

 

According to a 2008 study conducted by the ILO, among the most important factors driving children to harmful labour is the lack of availability and quality of schooling. Even when schools are sometimes available, they are too far away and difficult to reach or the quality of education is so poor that parents wonder if sending their kids to school is really worthwhile. In government-run primary schools, even when children show up, government-paid teachers play truant around 25 per cent of the time.

 

The study suggests that illiteracy resulting from a child going to work, rather than a quality primary and secondary school, limits the child’s ability to get the basic educational grounding which would in normal situations enable him/her to acquire skills and to improve prospects for a decent adult working life.

 

Though in India, welfare schemes such as MGNREGA and Mid-Day Meal Scheme have led to a rise in enrolment of children in schools and a small drop in child labour, the problem persists in our country, specially in the northern and central regions.      

 

One cannot deny the fact, as the ILO report rightly pointed out there are tremendous economic benefits for developing nations by sending children to school instead of work. Without education, children do not gain the necessary skills such as English literacy and technical aptitude that will increase their productivity to enable them to secure some sort of skilled jobs in the manufacturing and allied sectors.   

 

Indeed, for a drastic improvement in the country, education at the grass root has to be transformed with effective participation by the panchayats and more importantly with the involvement of community-based organizations. The latter can only relay the significance of education to the poor and impoverished sections. Though the labour component of children in household work and sometimes farming activities may continue, reaching out to all through education is an imperative necessity. 

 

There have been some experts who wonder that given the fact that unemployment in the country is around 210 million, why should children have to work at all? The answer is quite simple. For example small farmers who do not have the resources to employ people choose to engage their children to help them. The situation has to change but then there has to be more allocation of funds for children and primary education to usher in effectively this change.

 

Children are the future torch-bearers of the country and they have to be properly nurtured. But this does not mean sending the sons only to school but also concentrating on education of daughters and making them capable in life. One may mention here that the UN recently awarded the ‘Kanyashree Prakalpa’ of the West Bengal programme as the best programme of empowering the girl child which is aimed at spreading education among girls.   

 

The UN has played a significant role by taking a world-wide campaign against child labour and this is expected to yield results, if only the governments at the grass root level extends effective support. There is no need to lose hope and concerted efforts by all stakeholders should help in steadily bring reduce child labour in the coming years. ---INFA

 

(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)

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