Let children learn, not earn

Lazarus Sauti

The latest International Labour Organisation (ILO) global estimates on child labour indicates that the continent of Africa has the largest rate of children in economic activity – 28.4 per cent of all 5-14 year-olds, compared to 14.8 per cent for Asia and the Pacific and 9 per cent for Latin America.

“Sub-Saharan Africa has the greatest incidence of children in economic activity, and it ranks second behind Asia in absolute terms, with 58.2 million children working in the same age group.

“The persistent challenges of widespread and extreme poverty, high population growth, the AIDS pandemic, recurrent food crises, as well as political unrest and conflict clearly exacerbate the problem,” notes the ILO – a United Nations agency dealing with labour issues, particularly international labour standards, social protection, and work opportunities for all.

The UN agency adds: “In the region (of Africa), 38.7 million children ages 5 to 17 are in worst forms of child labour (hazardous work).

“Of particular concern are child trafficking, the use of children in armed conflict, small-scale mining, hazardous work in agriculture, industry and services, informal economy, commercial sexual exploitation and domestic labour.”

Belinda Chanda, a development economist serving as an Islamabad-based (Pakistan) Programme Analyst with the ILO, says child labour is harmful for children.

“Child labour, other than being unethical, is mentally, physically, and socially harmful for children. It involves the sale and trafficking of children, debt bondage, and forced or compulsory labour, including work that is likely to harm the health, safety or morals of children,” she said.

Sadly, asserts Chanda, child labour interferes with children’s schooling.

“Children in most African countries spend their childhood in workrooms and not in classrooms despite the fact that the best place for a child to be in is school, a platform that gives him or her much needed confidence to dream,” she said.

It is, therefore, noble for African countries to let children learn, not earn; and mechanisms to keep children in schools should aim at flexible scheduling of classes.

The World Bank, an international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital programmes, agrees that strategies to let children learn, not earn should target early childhood programmes, distance learning, bilingual education as well as flexible scheduling of classes.

Observing the World Day against Child Labour and supporting this year’s theme, “No to Child Labour. Yes, to Quality Education”, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) – a UN programme that provides long-term humanitarian and developmental assistance to children and mothers in developing countries, said free and compulsory education of good quality is key to ending child labour.

“Quality education gives children the opportunity to gain knowledge and skills. Offering free, but compulsory education of good quality is, therefore, key to ending child labour over and above eradicating poverty in developing countries,” the UNICEF affirmed.

It adds: “Government sectors and other stakeholders in the education and development fraternity need to encourage the expansion of primary and secondary education in their different forms. The best way is simply to make primary and secondary education free and accessible to all.”

Guy Ryder, ILO director-general, believes strong plans, policies and strategies that promote consistent and effective free, compulsory and quality education for all children are needed if developing countries are to stop child labour.

“National policies should be directed towards removing children and young people from hazardous jobs and, of course, towards removing the hazards in the workplace. They should also ensure access to quality primary, secondary and tertiary education as well as investment in the teaching profession,” he said.

The World Report on Child Labour (2015) agrees: “Coherent policies, targeted towards removing children and young people from hazardous jobs, are critical if Africa and other developing states are to keep their children in schools as well as to transform socio-economically.”

Chanda suggested that national strategies and policies should be in sync with regional, continental as well as international instruments and/or conventions that discourage child labour.

Provisions of national constitutions and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACRWC) as well as the United Conventions on the Rights of the Child need to be exercised in order to protect children from all forms of economic exploitation as well as to promote every child’s right to education.

The Foundation for the Development of Africa (FDA) – a private, ‘not-for-profit’, non-membership, organisation actively serving Africa by promoting processes conducive to sustainable development – believes changing the attitudes of parents, children, employers, teachers, unions, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), civil society and governments in child labour affected countries is critical for the promotion and development of the child’s personality, talents as well as mental and physical abilities.

Further, the Humanist Institute for Cooperation with Developing Countries (Hivos), a Dutch organisation for development that provides financial support to organisations in Africa, Latin America and Asia, feels it is the mandate of concerned organisations to support governments through creating structures that will keep children full-time in schools.

Honestly, children are the future of Africa. They are flowers of the continental garden. Consequently, it should be every individual’s duty to protect them – and one sure way of protecting them and promoting their development is to let them learn, not earn.