Child Labour – Exploitation or Need? Ayesha Saeed, MA Abstract

What is Child Labour? Child labour is work that harms children or keeps them from attending school. Around the world and in the U. S., growing gaps between rich and poor in recent decades have forced millions of young children out of school and into work. The International Labour Organization estimates that 246 million children between the ages of 5 and 17 currently work under conditions that are considered illegal, hazardous, or extremely exploitative. Underage children work at all sorts of jobs around the world, usually because they and their families are extremely poor. Large numbers of children work in commercial agriculture, fishing, manufacturing, mining, and domestic service. Some children work in illicit activities like the drug trade and prostitution or other traumatic activities such as serving as soldiers. Mining and Quarrying Gold in Colombia Charcoal in Brazil and El Salvador Chrome in Zimbabwe Diamonds in Cote d’Ivoire Emeralds in Colombia Coal in Mongolia Child Labor Public Education Project

Where does most child labour occur? Slides/Overheads

Where does most child labour occur? There is a surprising association between chocolate and child labor in the Cote d'Ivoire. Young boys whose ages range from 12 to 16 have been sold into slave labor and are forced to work in cocoa farms in order to harvest the beans, from which chocolate is made, under inhumane conditions and extreme abuse. This West African country is the leading exporter of cocoa beans to the world market. Chocolate and Slavery: Child Labor in Cote d'Ivoire

Child Slavery Two large multinational companies were named in the report, Monsanto and Bayer. A report like this calls into question Monsanto’s seemingly hollow pledge to “convert values to actions and results, and to make clear who we are and what we champion.” It’s hard to imagine that those at the very tops of the organization are not aware of these practices. So their actions make clear what they champion.question Monsanto’s seemingly hollow pledge GAP Admits To Child Slavery In Indian Factory

Child Labour - Bangladesh Lines in the Sand

Pakistaniat.com Child Labor: Yeh bacha kis ka bacha hai

Images of Child Labour Very hard to say about him. He is Suresh, working as a helper in a road side Mechanic shop which is situated in "Pudhupettai" Chennai's biggest Motor cycle repairing lane, which contains of 500 mechanic shops around the lane. You can find so many Suresh's here, working for 50 to 75 rupees (one dollar) a day. He will get a lunch and 3 times a day a tea or coffee break while shopkeeper is having the same. Parents of these kids might be working anywhere else and doesn't care about this flower bud's education. Copyright: Senthil KumarSenthil Kumar

Images of Child Labour Worldwide, agriculture is the sector where the largest percentage of working children is found - nearly 70 percent. Over 132 million girls and boys aged 5 to 14 years old often work from sun up to sun down on farms and plantations, planting and harvesting crops, spraying pesticides, and tending livestock. As agriculture is one of the key sectors of its economy, Uzbekistan heavily depends on it.

Images of Child Labour “The kids working the carpet factory struck me, especially if you look at their wrinkled hands from weaving the looms. It seemed their skin had aged about 40 years. Unfortunately I started shooting them close to the end of my month there, so my time was limited with them, but if I can return to Afghanistan, I would love to spend more time with them.” An Introduction to Chien-min Chung

Why do Children Work? Most children work because their families are poor and their labour is necessary for their survival. Discrimination on grounds including gender, race or religion also plays its part in why some children work. Children are often employed and exploited because, compared to adults, they are more vulnerable, cheaper to hire and are less likely to demand higher wages or better working conditions. Some employers falsely argue that children are particularly suited to certain types of work because of their small size and "nimble fingers". © Brian Finke/The Photo Project Sankar sells bottled water to train passengers in the Bhubaneswar train station, India. Boys sell water to buy food and daily necessities for living.Brian Finke/The Photo Project

Why do Children Work? For many children, school is not an option. Education can be expensive and some parents feel that what their children will learn is irrelevant to the realities of their everyday lives and futures. In many cases, school is also physically inaccessible or lessons are not taught in the child's mother tongue, or both. As well as being a result of poverty, child labour also perpetuates poverty. Many working children do not have the opportunity to go to school and often grow up to be unskilled adults trapped in poorly paid jobs, and in turn will look to their own children to supplement the family's income. © Jon Warren/The Photo Project Thavara searches for items to recycle. Her dream is to attend school. She was admitted to an NGO school, but has since moved to the countryside.Jon Warren/The Photo Project

Why do Children Work? Surprising to some, Insan has found that while poverty is always a factor, it does not stand alone at the heart of the problem. As a rule, the child laborers with which Insan Foundation works do come from poorer families, but for the most part their families do earn enough to meet their basic needs. Is poverty then what is driving child labour?InsanInsan Foundation Insan Foundation believes that the sorry state of public education in Pakistan is largely to blame. Public Schools in rural Lahore face problems of: - Overcrowded classrooms - Physical abuse - Irrelevant curriculum - Inflexible hours - Teachers not showing up to teach

Child Labour - Solutions In the 1990s every country in the world except for Somalia and the United States became a signatory to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, or CRC.Somalia United StatesConvention on the Rights of the Child The CRC provides the strongest, most consistent international legal language prohibiting illegal child labour; however it does not make child labour illegal. © Georgina Cranston/ Anti-Slavery International. Education, training and support are central to helping children recover from their experience of child labourAnti-Slavery International

Child Labour - Solutions Widening Participation in Education and Training –Education for All in PakistanEducation for All in Pakistan –Participation in Informal Learning (EU25)Participation in Informal Learning (EU25) –Lifelong LearningLifelong Learning –Flexible LearningFlexible Learning –Vocational Education and TrainingVocational Education and Training –Higher EducationHigher Education Poverty Eradication

Education for All in Pakistan Executive Summary Planning Process Review of Education for All Education Adult Literacy Early Childhood Education Consolidated Plan National Plan of Action for Education For All Pakistan

Widening Participation Participation in Informal Learning, by Educational Level, 2003 (%)

Widening Participation Skills Development and Lifelong Learning

The Lifelong Learning Programme Comenius - project-based partnerships, in- service opportunities and assistantships for all levels of school and further education.Comenius Erasmus - supports the mobility of HE students and staff across Europe, for both work placement and study purposes.Erasmus Leonardo - for the development of skills and training.Leonardo Grundtvig - a passport to partnerships and training opportunities for adult education organisations, teachers and learners.Grundtvig Transversal Study Visits - giving UK learning professionals the chance to exchange expertise with their European colleagues.Transversal Study Visits

Education and Training Flexible Education as a Solution These schools provide an alternative that is both relevant and accessible to poor or working youth. The schools use a variety of unconventional methods to attract students; from variable hours which allow students to attend when they are able, to a curriculum which uses newspapers and participatory theatre to address important social issues. Vocational Education and Training In India the Technical / Vocational Education and Training is multi-sectoral in nature. Each ministry/department in Central as well as State Governments is responsible for manpower development in that sector. While some offer regular formal or non-formal courses, others draw from the general pool of educated and trained manpower.

The World is the Classroom Exploring current issues in International Higher Education Exploring current issues in International Higher Education through the eyes of students, faculty, and alumni from the Higher Education Development Association (Hedda) at the University of Oslo.

The Bank of Solutions for Poverty Eradication BANSEP (bansep.org) is a remarkable initiative... it is a global encyclopedia, that illustrates real-world solutions for combating poverty across the world.bansep.org Click on the image on the right for a youtube video trailer explaining this new initiative.youtube video trailer Malawi: Two children attending SASO's weekly “Saturday Corner”, where children can receive food, medical checks, education and HIV awareness. Many children walk up to 15kms to attend. UNICEF/David Bull