Child Labour In India

Child Labour

Introduction
Child labour is a big issue and it is worth investigating. The reason that children are forced into labour and not go to school, concerns many people. India is the largest nation that faces the problem of child labour. It is estimated that 60 to 115 million of children are working. It is the highest number of child labour in the world.

What is child labour?
Child labour is when a child, usually between 6 to 14 are working. Child labour is an illegal act and according the child labour law in India, no child below 14 years old can be employed. But the results still shows that India has the highest amount of number of child labour.

Why is there child labour?
Due to my research, 44 million children are force to work. Many children have to work to help their families and some families expect their children to continue the family business at a young age. Some of them have to work to make a living for his/her family. Some work because they don't want to go to school.

My point of view
I think that children should have an opportunity to go to school and learn. Learning is fun and I believe that children should have a chance to learn and not go to work at factories. Working in factories are taking away children childhood.

I also believe that learning in school is very important. Imagine if a person without knowledge, can he make a living, especially at this generation where jobs are very hard to find. I will be very make to make a living and will be very poor. But if we have knowledge, we can find jobs easier and make a living. Who wants to be poor?

But at this time, a lot of children in India are very poor and their parents depend on them to make a living for the family. So I think that we must help them, especially the government. Instead of letting them working, I think we should provide them a living and also provide the children education. As I said above, education is very important.

But after I read the book, “Village by the Sea”, I think that letting children to work is not a bad idea after all. Because of reality, some people are born in a rich family, and some are born in a poor family. So, the people that are born in rich families can afford to go to school and the poor cannot. According to the story, Hari, a 12 year old boy, went to work in Bombay and after that experiences, we because a new person. He became more smarter and learn how to plan. He is no longer a boy, he became a young man.

But, overall. I still think that going to school is much better. Going to school will have a bright future, while going to work will also have a bright future, but not as bright as going to school to learn.





Point of view of the Human Rights Organization

The Human Rights Organization thinks that children should have some lesson. The lessons are intended for ages 12-15 (grade levels 6-8).

The lessons are intended to enhance students’ knowledge and understanding of child labor issues internationally, to develop skills in organizing and using the information contained in the Fields of Hope web site and other sites devoted to child labor, and to foster attitudes of social responsibility.

Expected Learning Outcomes
1. Knowledge: Students will be able to:

1. Define child labor and distinguish between abusive child labor and allowable work for children.
2. Describe reasons why child labor is a problem.
3. Understand the contributing factors that lead to the existence and spread of child labor, and the reasons why many working children are not in school.
4. List the health dangers to which child laborers are exposed.
5. Discuss ways to end child labor.

2. Skills: Students will be able to:

1. Read, assess and contribute to information on a multimedia web.
2. Organize and use information gained from pre-selected Internet-based sources.
3. Write a fact-based letter, newspaper article, editorial or story about child labor.
4. Participate in an interactive web-based discussion.
5. Assess the strengths and weaknesses of real-life program interventions.

3. Attitudes: Students will have an opportunity to:

1. Communicate their own beliefs, feelings and convictions about child labor.
2. Assess the value of their own opportunity and right to education.
3. Understand the importance of citizen action in a local and international problem that affects children.

These information above are taken from http://www.hrea.org/erc/Library/fieldsofhope.pdf .





India government point of view

From the time of its independence, India has committed itself to be against child labour. Article 24 of the Indian constitution clearly states that "No child below the age of fourteen years shall be employed to work in any factory or mine or employed in any hazardous employment" (Constitution of India cited in Jain 1985, 218). Article 39 (e) directs State policy such "that the health and strength of workers . . . and the tender age of children are not abused and that citizens are not forced by economic necessity to enter avocations unsuited to their age or strength" (Constitution of India cited in Human Rights Watch 1996, 29). These two articles show that India has always had the goal of taking care of its children and ensuring the safety of workers.

The Bonded Labour System Act of 1976 fulfills the Indian Constitution’s directive of ending forced labour. The Act "frees all bonded laborers, cancels any outstanding debts against them, prohibits the creation of new bondage agreements, and orders the economic rehabilitation of freed bonded laborers by the state" (Human Rights Watch 1996, 30). In regard to child labour, the Indian government implemented the Child Labour Act in 1986. The purpose of this act is to "prohibit the employment of children who have not completed their 14th year in specified hazardous occupations and processes" (Narayan 1988, 146). ILO convention No. 138 suggests that the minimum age for employment should not be less than fifteen years, and thus the Child Labour Act of 1986 does not meet this target (Subrahmanya 1987, 105).

A recent advance in government policy occurred in August of 1994, when then- Prime Minister Narasimha Rao announced his proposal of an Elimination of Child Labour Programme. This program pledges to end child labour for two million children in hazardous industries as defined in the Child Labour Act of 1986, by the year 2000. The program revolves around an incentive for children to quit their work and enter non-formal schooling: a one hundred rupee payment as well as one meal a day for attending school (Human Rights Watch 1996, 119-120). Where the funds for this program will come from is unknown. The government needs eight and a half billion dollars for the program over five years, and yet "about 4 percent of the five-year estimated cost was allocated for child labour elimination programs in 1995-1996" (Human Rights Watch 1996, 120).

All of the policies that the Indian government has in place are in accordance with the Constitution of India, and all support the eradication of Child Labour. The problem of child labour still remains even though all of these policies are existent. Enforcement is the key aspect that is lacking in the government’s efforts. No enforcement data for child labour laws are available: "A glaring sign of neglect of their duties by officials charged with enforcing child labor laws is the failure to collect, maintain, and disseminate accurate statistics regarding enforcement efforts" (Human Rights Watch 1996, 131). Although the lack of data does not mean enforcement is nonexistent, the number of child labourers and their work participation rates show that enforcement, if existent, is ineffective.
Information taken fromhttp://www.karmayog.org/childlabour/childlabour_17897.htm