Child Labor in India: Sid Harth
chhotemianinshallah
40% of domestic helps in Mumbai are U-15 girls: UNDP report
PTI 10 September 2009, 10:35am IST
MUMBAI: 40% of domestic servants in India's financial capital are
under 15 years of age and the number seems to be increasing at an
alarming rate, states a report by the United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP).
"About 40% of the domestic helps were girls under 15 years of age. A
substantive section of domestic help comprises girls, working for
precarious wages and their numbers appear to have increased," the
Human Development Report compiled by Brihanmumbai Municipal
Corporation (BMC) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
said.
As per the 2001 Census, there were only 1,297 girls as main workers
and 209 girls as marginal workers, which may not reflect the reality
on ground. It appears that the official data on child labour is highly
underestimated.
"Often these young domestic helpers are abused, verbally and
physically and also sexually exploited," the report said.
Also distributing is the manner in which a mother, who is a domestic
help, takes a girl child as her assistant unpaid, finally leading the
latter becoming a domestic servant, the report said.
If one considers children working in local trains, bus stops, grocery
shops, shoe-shine boys, newspaper vendors, waste pickers, hawkers,
vendors, domestic workers, baby sitters, coolies, helpers in shops,
the real picture will emerge.
...and I am Sid Harth
chhotemianinshallah
Suchitra cleared, Aamir refuses child labour ads
Sudeshna Chatterjee, TNN 26 August 2009, 10:29pm IST
Even as the state government clears actress, poet and writer Suchitra
Krishnamoorthi of employing a minor in her home, it has decided to
rope in Suchitra Krishnamoorthi Bollywood stars to launch a public
awareness campaign to educate the public on the issue.
Says Kavita Gupta, secretary, Labour, Govt of Maharashtra, “We have
asked Shah Rukh Khan and Hrithik Roshan to become the ambassadors of
our media messages. Aamir Khan has refused. Prahlad Kakkar will be
producing it.” The ministry plans a series of hoardings,
advertisements and public messages on TV to make people aware of the
Act.
Meanwhile, the Suchitra Krishnamoorthi case is finally a closed
chapter. The state government has clarified the "goof-up" and cleared
Krishnamoorthi of any wrongdoing.
In the wake of the growing cases of abuse of domestic servants and
minors in Mumbai coming to light, the Maharashtra government had on
Tuesday filed a case against Krishnamoorthi and TV star Laxmi for
allegedly employing child labour. Krishnamoorthi, of course, issued a
denial immediately and sought an appointment with the state labour
minister, Nawab Malik.
Following the meeting on Wednesday, Gupta categorically stated that
the state government never filed any case against Suchitra
Krishnamoorthi. “In the aftermath of the Urvashi Dhanorkar case, we
had a review meeting to ensure awareness among people against child
labour of any kind and prevent such mishaps in future. In the meeting,
there were NGOs as well. One of them (I don’t remember the name)
complained about Suchitra Krishnamoorthi. Later, it was learnt that in
2007, there was a case against her mother Dr Sulochana Krishnamoorthi
for employing child labour. But the police have closed the case once
the child was rescued and sent to her village. She is now studying in
a school in Orissa. It was a faux pas on the NGO’s part to name
Suchitra Krishnamoorthi.”
Krishnamoorthi is justifiably happy that her name has been cleared.
However, she wonders how the minister could appear on television and
accuse her of such an act without ascertaining the facts. “Had the
labour minister not clarified the matter and apologized for falsely
accusing me in a child labour case, I would have slapped a defamation
law suit on the ministry and its officers. My lawyers were ready with
the paperwork. Thank God, it did not come to that. All’s well that
ends well. In fact, now I have been asked by the ministry to help in
this cause in whatever way I can,” says Krishnamoorthi.
Is she bitter about the fiasco? “No, It is important that these
matters be brought to light and if I was victimized for a day it is no
big deal if it helps other girls,” says Krishnamoorthi. But having
said that, she also adds that when she asked the concerned NGO to show
her the FIR against her mother that was filed in 2007, the NGO gave a
wishy-washy answer. She points out, “Where does one draw the line when
one wants to help someone? It is like asking if one should help an
accident victim fearing a police case? My mother was just trying to
help the girl. Her intentions in bringing the girl into her home were
to give her shelter till she was sent back to her village safely and
nothing else and that’s what she did. By virtue of being her daughter
my name has got dragged into it.”
Gupta maintains that the ministry has issued a directive where it is
mandatory for all shops and establishments in Maharashtra to put up a
board in Marathi on the issue of Child Labour. The Child Labour
Prevention Act, 1986, was amended in October 2006 to ban employment of
children under 14 as domestic servants and in dhabas, restaurants,
hotels and other hospitality sectors. It makes their employment a
punishable offence. The penalty amounts to Rs 20,000 and the offender
is also liable for prosecution. “The board will have helpline numbers
as well because we want the public to be aware and alert. They can
complain by just calling on the helpline number which will then
provide us with necessary information. The complainant need not have
to appear in court later in the wake of any possible cases,” explains
Gupta.
While child labour has been rampant in the state and the country,
there is also a social issue of poverty. In the face of abject
poverty, child labour becomes all the more vulnerable. Then there are
also instances of Good Samaritans taking care of minor
maids. But Gupta is firm in saying, “The law of the land prohibits
child labour of any kind. Therefore, for all practical purposes, it
becomes a legal offence.”
chhotemianinshallah
Minor maid was under mom's care: Suchitra
Sudeshna Chatterjee, TNN 26 August 2009, 02:24pm IST
To highlight child labour and domestic abuse, if I was victimized for
a day, it is no big deal, says Suchitra Krishnamoorthi Suchitra
Krishnamoorthi
In the wake of the growing abuse of domestic servants and minors in
Mumbai, the Maharashtra government filed a case yesterday against
Bollywood actress, poet and writer Suchitra Krishnamoorthi and TV star
Laxmi for allegedly employing child labour. The action comes barely
three days after television actress Urvashi Dhanorkar was arrested on
Saturday for beating, burning and confining her 10-year old maid after
she caught her "eating".
Denying the allegation, Suchitra Krishnamoorthi said that she is
meeting the Labour Minister Nawab Malik today at Mantralaya (state
secretariat) “to clarify the issue and my name. An accusation of this
magnitude by the state government is something I take very seriously
and negates and makes the mockery of all the hard work and energy I
have put into the upliftment of the girl child in our country.”
She reiterates, “I have been wrongly accused. I have not employed
anyone underage or done anything illegal. The media needs to get its
facts right before making a nautanki of people's lives. I do feel
wronged but its okay. My feelings are less important than the truth-
and I'll be grateful for the truth to be reported in a correct and
responsible manner."
A shocked but pragmatic Suchitra maintains, “I think it was wrong of
them to drag my name into a case and accuse me of something so
heinous. It goes against the grain of everything I stand for and
believe in and base my life on. But on the other hand if it serves the
larger purpose of stopping the abuse of child labour and domestic
abuse I am glad to have been of help. It is important that these
matters be brought to light and if I was victimized for a day it is no
big deal-if it helps other girls and women escape a life time of
victimization and abuse -it's a scandal well worth my time.”
Asked how such an issue ever cropped up, she elaborates, “The fact of
the matter is that an NGO had approached my mother Dr Sulochana
Krishnamoorthi in May 2007 regarding a 13-year-old, who was under her
care at the request of another maid whose employer was refusing to
keep the young girl at home. So the maid had requested my mom to let
the 13-year-old girl stay at my parents' home in Veera Desai Road
(Andheri in Mumbai) for a few days till she could organise her ticket
back to the village."
Suchitra adds, "My parents were actually in the process of relocating
to Bangalore at that time. It was actually very inconvenient for them
but my mother's intentions were to protect the child — so much so that
when the NGO and police came knocking at her door she refused to hand
over the child to anyone except her aunt — saying that the girl was
her responsibilty and she didn’t want a young girl to spend time alone
in a police station or public place.That is what had happened and it
was two-and-a-half years ago. I didn't even know about this incident
till today.”
She continues, “ My mother is a doctorate in history and a professor,
her main subject being women’s education in India. She is well known
for her charitable acts towards the poor and underpriveleged. In fact,
she is one of those ladies who used to call the poor kids from the
neighbourhood once a month and feed them and give them English
lessons. Her intentions in bringing the girl into her home were to
give her shelter till she was sent back to her village safely and
nothing else and that’s what she did. By virtue of being her daughter
my name has got dragged into it.”
...and I am Sid Harth
chhotemianinshallah
I don’t have a maid below 14: Suchitra
TNN 25 August 2009, 09:48pm IST
Suchitra Krishnamoorthi is shocked at being accused of employing a
minor as a maid. She says, “I was having lunch with a girlfriend when
I got a Suchitra Krishnamoorthi few calls from journos and friends
telling me I am on TV-breaking news.
Suchitra Krishnamoorthi accused of employing a girl below 14-abusing
child labour laws!’ To say I am shocked and hurt is putting it mildly
- I am devastated.”
The actress, painter and mother of a nine-year-old adds, “The Labour
Minister has named me on TV - the television is full of images of me
alongside of a nine-year-old bruised and abused little girl that was
rescued a few days ago from the home of a television actress Urvashi.
There is nothing more painful than that visual to me, the mother of a
nine-year-old myself.”
Suchitra, the former wife of filmmaker Shekhar Kapur, writes on her
blog, “Whatever the labour department has said about today me - It is
a LIE. I have employed no one below the age of 14 and certainly no one
by the name of Nayantri, not currently and NEVER in the past.”
She adds, “I currently employ two girls aged 18. I have registered
with two maid agencies in the city who provide me maids with
verification and identity.”
Denying that the labour department, police or NGO had been contact
with her over the issue, she says sternly, “I demand and challenge
them to come up with the proof of the heinous accusations they are
hurling at me. My home and my phone line are open to them. As a law
abiding citizen I have every right to ask them to furnish me with the
evidence they have supposedly gathered against me. Who is this girl?
What are they talking about?”
Suchitra states, “So whoever else the labour department is talking
about is a figment of their imagination. I am a law abiding citizen
and have spent the last few years working towards the betterment of
women and children’s lives. Not only with my money but with my
valuable time energy and love.”
She says, “When I first saw the news break out I thought it may be
about a maid called Rajmoti I had employed over a month ago. She was
16 or 17 and sent to me by her sister Sunita who has been working in
my dear friend Tanaya’s home for four years. They told me Rajmoti
needed a home. She was fresh from her village that didn’t even have
electricity and were keen for her to love and stay in the city for a
while.”
“So wondering if the labour laws had changed from 14 to 18, and if
this was what the ruckus was about, I called up her sister Sunita and
asked if they had perhaps been contacted by an NGO or lodged a
complaint. They were shocked and assured me that I had done them a
favour by taking the girl in and there was no way they would have
lodged a complaint and nor had any NGO or labour department contacted
them. So it’s definitely not Rajmoti. As for this other girl
Nayantari, that the labour department is accusing me of employing and
abusing, I am not even aware of her existence.”
She is willing to give the benefit of doubt to the authorities
concerned, “I don’t know who is behind this and why my name is being
dragged into it. Maybe it’s a misunderstanding and the name has been
misunderstood. I am willing to give them the benefit of the doubt and
will pause a bit before I decide what further I need to do.”
Suchitra concludes, “I am not going to let a lie and a fabricated
accusation strip me of everything I stand for, have worked towards and
believe in. I have faith that the truth with prevail.”
chhotemianinshallah
Actress Suchitra Krishnamoorthi booked for employing child labour
IANS 25 August 2009, 05:09pm IST
MUMBAI: In the wake of growing abuse of domestic servants and minors
in the city, the Maharashtra government on Tuesday filed cases against
Suchitra Krishnamoorthi. (TOI Photo)
Bollywood actress Suchitra Krishnamoorthi and television star Laxmi
for allegedly employing child labour.
Labour Minister Nawab Malik told media persons on Tuesday afternoon
that his department got information that the two actresses were
employing minor girls as maids.
"Accordingly, we have initiated necessary proceedings against the two
actresses. We appeal to people to come forward and give us information
about such individuals who employ child labour so we can take suitable
steps in the matter," Malik said.
Suchitra is the former wife of noted director Shekhar Kapur.
The action comes barely three days after television actress Urvashi
Dhanorkar was arrested Saturday for beating, burning and confining her
10-year old maid after she caught her "eating".
Dhanorkar was bailed out hours after her arrest. Meanwhile, the
victim, Rameshwari is now in a juvenile rescue home.
The Child Labour Prevention Act, 1986, was amended October 2006 to ban
employment of children under 14 as domestic servants and in dhabas,
restaurants, hotels and other hospitality sectors. It makes their
employment a punishable offence.
...and I am Sid Harth
chhotemianinshallah
No case registered against Suchitra Krishnamoorthi: Minister
PTI 26 August 2009, 05:58pm IST
MUMBAI: No case was registered against actress-singer Suchitra
Krishnamoorthi over hiring a minor domestic help, Maharashtra labour
minister Nawab Malik said on Wednesday.
"I was provided wrong information by an NGO and on the basis of that I
had announced that a case was registered," Malik told reporters here.
A case was registered in May 2007 against Suchitra's mother Sulochana
Krishnamoorthi but the charges were dropped, he said adding that
Suchitra met him on Wednesday.
The two-year-old case was about a minor girl found at her (Suchitra's)
parents' home, the minister said, adding the girl has been sent back
to her village in Orissa.
Suchitra told him that the girl's aunt, a housemaid, had requested to
keep the girl for a few days and accordingly, she kept her at her the
parents' place.
However, another maid complained to police that the girl was employed
by the Krishnamoorthi family, the actress said.
chhotemianinshallah
TV actress beats, burns little maid for eating
IANS 22 August 2009, 02:57pm IST
MUMBAI: The police nabbed a television actress here on Saturday after
she beat and burnt her 10-year-old maid because the child had been
"caught eating", an official said. ( Watch Video )
The actress, Urvashi Dhanorkar, has been accused of brutally
assaulting 10-year-old Rameshwari, locking up the child at home and
employing a minor as a labourer, said a duty officer of Amboli police
station in Andheri west.
"The victim has been sent for a medical check-up and we are awaiting
the reports," he said.
The officer said Rameshwari was brought to Mumbai from Amravati last
April on the pretext that she would be given an education. However,
she was forced to work as a maid in Urvashi's home in the posh Royal
Palms Complex in Versova.
A week ago, Urvashi reportedly caught Rameshwari eating. The actress
banged the child's head against a wall and burnt her arms, he added.
Thereafter, Rameshwari was confined at home and allowed outside only a
couple of days ago. Some neighbours and social activists noticed the
physical abuse she had undergone and took her to the police.
Rameshwari told reporters that she was never given sufficient food and
had been physically abused and tortured repeatedly in the past few
months.
Urvashi was produced before a magistrate in Bandra Saturday afternoon
and bailed out after posting a Rs.10,000 surety, the officer added.
This is the third instance of abuse of a domestic help in Andheri
region in the past three months.
Actor Shiney Ahuja was nabbed for raping his maid servant in his
Versova home in June. In July, three activists of Maharashtra
Navnirman Sena (MNS) were nabbed for gang-raping a minor domestic help
in a garden in Andheri
bademiyansubhanallah
Send Urvashi to jail: Zoya Akhtar
TNN 25 August 2009, 07:04pm IST
If your neighbour employs a minor, call the cops, says director Zoya
Akhtar Zoya Akhtar More Pics
Child labour is illegal. To employ a child for anything is illegal.
Then why are people doing it? I think it’s important to ask the
question ‘why would anyone allow their 10-year-old child to be taken
away to the city by a stranger on the promise of education and a
better life?’
Simple answer really — people don’t have money, people don’t have food
to eat in rural India. And there is only one solution to that and that
is to develop. The development of our villages, providing employment
is crucial to stop many such things from happening.
Secondly, the actress who did this simply must be sent to jail. The
problem is that this is India — if people can get away with something
— they will. The law must be enforceable. You have to have some
deterrent that makes people stop and realise that they will be in very
serious trouble if they attempt to do such a thing.
People have to know that their neighbours are going to call the police
if they try to hire a minor. There must be that level of awareness and
fear of going to jail. If you just keep making offences bailable then
what is the point of this law?
(As told to Gayatri)
bademiyansubhanallah
Priya Dutt: Minors as maids are common
TNN 25 August 2009, 06:40pm IST
You can have all the laws that you want, but as long as there is no
provision to execute them there is no point, says MP Priya Dutt Priya
Dutt
I think it’s very sad that we take a stand on all sorts of issues, but
when it comes to something like a helpless child being abused, the
issue quickly dies down. It’s very sad. Yes, I do agree that perhaps
the silence on the issue comes from the fact that more people than are
ready to admit it, do in fact employ underage children as maids from
their hometowns.
Though I do not condone it — the act is illegal — I think by and large
people mean well. The intention is, ‘I am giving her a home, food,
clothes, pay, and saving her from a far worse fate.’
Good intentions can be misplaced. In case people think that by doing
that they can do whatever they want to the child, they are grossly
mistaken. They have not adopted the child, they are not emotionally
invested in the child. The child is not ‘theirs’ to do what they want
with. They certainly wouldn’t treat their own children that way.
Let them understand that they are not doing anybody any favours. It’s
even different if you are trying to promise a better education and
life to an 18-year-old. But there is no way I can even justify this to
a 10-year-old. It’s a form of human trafficking.
As far as child labour laws go, I have my own stand on that. I believe
that the government needs to have a backup infrastructure to
rehabilitate children rescued from or relieved from child labour, only
then will that go. All kinds of abuse is perpetrated against children
in this country – sexual abuse, labour abuse, trafficking. What is the
point of laws – for example there is an excellent law against the
employment of minors as maids – but the government has not thought out
how to implement it and check on its execution.
bademiyansubhanallah
We need stronger laws on child labour: Smriti Irani
TNN 25 August 2009, 07:07pm IST
It’s time to wake up!
To employ a 10-year-old is a crime that this employee didn’t hesitate
to commit. Kudos to the neighbours who brought the alleged abuser to
book, but sadly, our laws are not strong enough to mete out severe
punishment for child abuse. I hope someone wakes up.
What is anyone doing with a 10-year-old maid? After being tried for
child labour and child abuse, the community needs to open its eyes and
participate in other people’s affairs ... or are we against
transparency?
I think the actress (Urvashi) who made the 10-year-old maid work and
live like that should be made to do her job, in return for the same
treatment for a year. She needs to understand what it’s like to be
treated inhumanly. As an artist, I can only say that kindness and
compassion begets compassion and loyalty in return. I look after the
people who work for me - whether it’s the cleaning maid or the driver
- and because of that they will do anything for me and are equally
passionate about me. I’ve seen the way they are treated in the other
places they work. Sometimes you come back from work tired and take out
your frustrations or fire the maid who has worked the whole day for
you. What loyalty do you expect in return? Treat people well, and you
will treated well in return. It’s basic humanity.
chhotemianinshallah
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Economic Security for Families of Child Labourers in India
As part of the overall strategy for eliminating and preventing child
labour in India, aid agencies seek to increase economic security to
the families who withdraw their children from hazardous work by
encouraging savings and alternative livelihoods. Since most of the
parents of child labourers work in the informal sectors with irregular
incomes they lack economic security.
Child labour is viewed in India not as a labour problem but as a
development issue requiring multi-sectoral interventions and civil
society partnership. Active district leadership is therefore
considered crucial in the implementation of activities to reduce child
labour. In some districts, mothers of child workers enrolled in formal
schools, transitional education centres and vocational training
centres are organized into Self-Help Groups (SHGs). SHGs were formed
with the specific objective of providing economic security to the
child worker families in order that the need for the child’s earnings
is obviated. In order to assist the families in increasing their
incomes, two specific activities are offered:
(i) facilitating the availability of credit; and
(ii) training for the acquisition of skills for alternative
livelihoods.
SHG members receive training on income generation activities. Each
member of the SHG is encouraged to regularly save and the group’s
savings are pooled into a revolving fund into which the government
would match the amount. On completing six months of savings the groups
become eligible to receive the matching amount. In fact the government
aims to arrange loans and subsidies under various government schemes
and provide for revolving funds in coordination with a lead bank of
the district.
From a sub-study by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) on the
impact of income generation activities in selected areas, it was
observed that in the district Virudhnagar in Tamil Nadu state there
appears to have been a very positive impact. The dependence on money
lenders has been substantially reduced (the numbers were reduced to
almost half of what they were prior to the SHG activity); credit from
the banks was made available to SHG members in addition to the loan
facility from the SHG’s own fund; and the group also managed to have
substantial savings. The earnings of the members also registered an
increase of around 50%.
The sub-study indicated that the large number of SHG members who were
given training in new career areas (almost all the mothers of the
group in Jalna & Aligarh districts) had not used the new skills
learned since they continued to do what they were doing prior to the
training. In the Virudhnagar district there was greater awareness and
clarity among the members and only 20% opted for skills training; the
rest wanted to continue with existing activities. It could be inferred
that new skills training for mothers is perhaps not a critical factor
and an occupational shift by itself is not desirable or possible in
most cases. In any case, such activities cannot be planned for all the
members. Rather, training in career areas and trades could be needs-
based.
It appears that interventions have been successful only in localized
pockets where enabling environments existed. Successful poverty
alleviation interventions could be studied to give guidance to
understand the broader dimensions of the problem of child labour. The
question of most child worker families not falling under the ‘Below
Poverty Line’ (BPL) category also needs to be studied more closely to
see whether they are erroneously left out due to migration, or other
reasons, or whether their non-inclusion is on account of their
ineligibility. The two cases would call for different actions.
Posted by Martina Nicolls at 8:22 AM
chhotemianinshallah
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Community Monitoring of Child Labour in India
To operationalise community involvement to monitor child labour in
India, using a democratic framework of local self-government
institutions, the municipalities and the panchayats, Village Education
Committees (VEC) and in the urban areas Ward Education Committees
(WEC) were to be strengthened to function as the child labour
monitoring teams. They were to especially monitor the enrolment and
retention of children in schools after they were removed from
exploitative labour. A designated community worker, employed by the
district, was to facilitate the meetings of these committees. The
child labour rehabilitation plans were to be prepared in each village
or ward.
The VEC/WEC members and members of the Parent Teacher Associations
(PTA) were sensitized in respect of the special needs and concerns
regarding child labour through special modules. However, when assessed
by an independent evaluation specialist, the issue of child labour was
not a priority for the VEC/WEC. In Tamil Nadu where absence of child
labour is one of the criteria for declaring a village a ‘Namadhu
Gramam Thittam’ (an ‘ideal village’), it is very much a priority with
the ‘gram panchayats’.
The major initiatives of the idea have the potential to be sustained
and extended evidenced by the impact they have had in influencing the
policies and programs of the government. The Ministry of Education has
made significant modifications and actions to improve the success of
community monitoring of child labour. These include focusing on urban
areas, migrant child labour, and documenting successful communities
and the reasons for their success. The special targets in respect of
child labour - migrant and urban children – should be addressed in a
planned and systematic manner through effective interventions at the
district level.
Posted by Martina Nicolls at 1:49 AM 0 comments
Friday, September 25, 2009
Transitional Education for Child Labourers in India
In India, child labourers in the 9-13 age range that are withdrawn
from work by government National Child Labour Projects (NCLP) or
through projects such as the INDUS Project, implemented by the
government of India, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and
the United States Department of Labor (USDOL) are enrolled in
Transitional Education Centres (TEC).
While the 5-8 year old child workers can be mainstreamed directly into
the government’s formal school system, the 9-13 year olds may never
have attended school before, or have been out-of-school for some
period of time and may not have accessed the Ministry of Education’s
bridging initiatives within their districts - the Education Guaranteed
Scheme (EGIS) or Alternative Innovative Education (AIE). Children in
this age group that have been withdrawn from hazardous work may have
access to the NCLP special schools, devised under the Ministry of
Labour and Employment mandate to provide non-formal education
initiatives as a pathway into the MOE’s formal schools under their
Education for All scheme. Hence, the INDUS Project established TECs.
TECs offer the regular school syllabus to Class 5 over a period of two
years. The State Education Department provides textbooks (as used in
formal schools) to the TECs.
Transitional Education Centres were designed by the INDUS Project,
using the NCLP approach, to enable children removed from hazardous
work to receive appropriate schooling that prepares them to be
mainstreamed into the regular government schools. Examinations usually
occur after summer holidays in July to assess whether children are
ready for mainstreaming or not. If a minimum number of 15 children
from a TEC class are ready for mainstreaming, they will transition, in
one group, to a formal government school in their neighbourhood. The
vacancies created enables additional children to be removed from work
and enrolled in the TEC.
The average student to staff ratio in the TECs was kept low at 1:10
which was substantially lower than the student to staff ratio of
formal schools (1:34). The low student to staff ratio enables students
to receive quality education in accordance with their social,
physical, mental, and academic needs. The focus is to prepare them
academically to mainstream into formal schools, and due to this
concentrated, specific aim, all participants work toward the same
goal, with major success.
Some of the ‘push’ factors that keep students from schools include:
(1) poverty; (2) parental pressure to work; (3) parental migration to
seasonal work regions; (4) the quality of education; (5) the quality
of teachers; (6) negative classroom discipline; (7) pregnancy; (8)
marriage; (9) care of siblings or sick parents; and (10) the pressure
of being a head of household to financial support siblings. A summary
of the ‘pull’ factors to attract children into the TECs include: (1)
access to education; (2) stipend; (3) pre-vocational activities; (4)
Life Skills education; (5) Activity-Based Learning; (5) low student to
staff ratio; (6) free health care, (7) free midday meals; (8)
transport to school; (9) close location to Lead School and the
students’ community; (10) school materials including uniforms; and
(11) the support of private organisations.
Good Practices and Lessons Learned
The convergence between the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of
Labour and Employment at the district level were essential to ensure
that the TECs could operate effectively and could work with the nearby
formal schools, the Lead Schools, to mainstream and retain students.
This included the district authorities assisting with the
identification of Lead Schools and approving the supply of formal
school textbooks for the TECs, as well as collaborating on the
preparation of training modules for TEC teachers and providing
instructions to Lead School teachers for the process of mainstreaming
(such as regular examinations). District officials also issued
requirements for the follow-up of mainstreamed students by the TEC
teachers for up to a year after mainstreaming. Private organisations
also assisted with educational support, thus enhancing convergence at
all levels of the community.
The teacher training modules on child labour issues, as well as child-
focused teaching strategies and innovative teaching and learning
methodologies were well received and appreciated. The modules were
professionally produced and structured in a manner that facilitated
easy adoption of principles and practices. Teachers indicated that
they were using the methodologies after their training and that they
had contributed toward easier management of classes, and more interest
by the students.
Posted by Martina Nicolls at 4:49 AM 0 comments
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Reduction of child labourers in India
I was part of a three-person team to conduct an evaluation of child
labour in India in January and February 2009. The concern for child
labour is a part of India’s welfare state approach. The 2001 Census
indicated that there were 12.6 million economically active children
with a workforce participation rate of 5%, down from the 1991 figures
of 13.6 million. The reduction has been found to have primarily
occurred in rural areas, while in the urban areas it has shown a
somewhat rising trend, particularly in 2004-2005. It is also
noteworthy that during the last ten years the number of working
children in the younger age group of 5-9 years has declined sharply
from 1.27 million in 1993-1994 to 0.35 million in 2004-05 according to
the government’s report of the National Child Labour Project.
Based on the 1991 Census data, six states had the highest incidences
of child labour: Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil
Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. These six states accounted for
7.04 million child labourers. The 2001 Census data showed that the
states of Rajasthan and Bihar had more than a million working
children, and were overtaking other states.
Despite the reduction, it is acknowledged that with a large
population, a sizable proportion of which continues to be living below
the national poverty line, and significant gaps in access to
education, a child labour free India cannot be a realistic or feasible
goal. Nevertheless, the government’s approach has been a sequential
one aiming at gradual improvement starting with the removal of child
labour from dangerous jobs and priority sectors.
To this end legislation prohibits employment of children below 14
years of age in factories, mines or other hazardous occupations. The
Directive Principles of State Policy that are required to be followed
in the governance of the country stipulate that all children be
protected from abuse, exploitation and abandonment, and provide
opportunities for their ‘development in a healthy manner and in
conditions of freedom and dignity’ through the enactment of the Child
Labour (Prohibition & Regulation) Act, 1986. Initially it listed 6
occupations and 13 processes as hazardous in which children could not
be employed, allowing scope for making further additions to the list.
There are 16 occupations and 66 processes that are prohibited under
the Act.
The Government of India formulated its National Child Labour Policy in
1987. Compliance is reported to the Supreme Court by the Ministry of
Labour and Employment. The policy dealt with the issue from three main
aspects: (a) a legislative action plan for strict and effective
enforcement of provisions relating to child labour; (b) focusing
general development programmes for benefitting child labourers and
their families; and (c) a project based plan of action in areas with
high concentration of child labour in hazardous sectors through the
implementation of National Child Labour Projects. The NCL Projects
aimed at withdrawing children from work and rehabilitating them
through education and vocational skills. This policy approach is still
valid and is ongoing.
National Child Labour Projects (NCLP) are currently established in 250
districts extending over 15 states. At present there are 8,887 NCLP
schools with an enrolment of 0.34 million children. Working children
already mainstreamed to regular schools under the NCLP Scheme are 0.45
million.
Posted by Martina Nicolls at 10:19 PM 0 comments
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Child labor awareness raising and sensitization are major catalysts
for social change within communities.
Community Welfare Committees established by communities are major
catalysts in bringing people together and providing common goals for
child labor interventions, community development projects, and income
generation schemes.
Effective leadership of community members is a powerful tool towards
gaining community respect, motivating communities into participating
in child labor interventions.
Economic empowerment through training in best practice business skills
and effective implementation mobilizes communities towards income
generation, self-sufficiency and sustainability, if followed-up and
continually encouraged, which may mitigate the likelihood of parents
engaging in child trafficking.
Basic functional literacy skills enables community members,
particularly youth and women, to converse, write their name, record
measurements (i.e. carpentry and tailoring), and document simple
requests, for empowerment and change.
Basic functional numeracy skills enables community members,
particularly youth and women, to prepare budgets, keep account of
income and expenditure, and manage finances, for empowerment and
change.
The capacity of communities can be greatly increased through training
in child labor, education, healing classroom practices, health,
economic development and community development. Multiple trainings
that are repeated continuously over the life of the program, in order
for messages to be fully absorbed and applied, are preferred to one-
off training sessions.
Community to local government initiatives empower communities to
engage with their local government and advocate their needs, and
pressure them to respond to programs that combat child labor, child
trafficking and promote the return of all children to schooling and
vocational training.
Posted by Martina Nicolls at 6:53 PM 0 comments
bademiyansubhanallah
No data on action against child labour
Posted On Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Agencies
New Delhi, Oct 21:
Three years since a complete ban on child labour in the country, more
than one crore children are still working in various areas and worse,
the government has no data on enforcement of the ban during 2009,
child rights organisations said citing government's RTI reply.
"In the last three years, a mockery has been made out of the law,"
said Bhuwan Ribhu, national secretary of Bachpan Bachao Andolan (BBA),
a child rights organisation, which had filed an RTI query with the
Union Ministry of Labour and Employment.
"The reply was quite shocking. The ministry has no data whatsoever on
the enforcement of the ban for the year 2009," said Ribhu, although
estimates suggest there are 30 million children working across
sectors.
As per Labour Ministry, a total of 12,666,377 children were working in
various sectors including agriculture.
An estimated 185,595 children are employed as domestic help and in
small roadside eateries while most child domestic workers are
trafficked by placement agencies operating in poor states like Orissa,
Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
In October 2006, the government amended the 23-year-old child labour
act, bringing two more categories -- children working as domestic
helps and those employed in road-side eateries, hotels, restaurants,
teashops, spas and other recreation centres -- under the prohibited
occupations, thus enforcing a complete ban on employment of children.
The situation on the ground has not changed even three years after the
ban that prohibited employment of children aged under 14 years, the
child rights activists contend.
The officials, however, asserted that they were doing whatever
possible to completely enforce the ban. "We are doing the best
possible and (that too) as per the guidelines issued by the Delhi High
Court," a senior labour department official said, not wishing to be
named.
According to him, they were overworked and understaffed.
As per the information obtained, the authorities have carried out only
36,430 inspections across the country between October 2006 and April
2008. Of them 1,700 cases detected and only 138 prosecutions have been
filed, Ribhu said.
While 528 children were sent back to their parents without legal
formalities, only 145 children were put in shelter homes.
Strangely, there are only 28 families -- 26 in Andhra Pradesh and two
in Karnataka -- that received economic benefits for rehabilitation,
under the Bonded Labour Act, he added.
"Previously, only the stone-quarries, zari factories, industries and
brick kilns, were the culprits. But now, with two additional areas
included, the child labour law is being flouted behind every other
door." said Ribhu, citing the 2006 amendment to the law.
Prabir Basu, National Convenor of Campaign Against Child Labour
(CACL), another NGO working for children's rights, however, said that
the real figure could be much higher.