Breaking The Cycle Of Child Labour Is In India’s Hands

Context: Pandemic has amplified contributing factors to child labour, and thus, there is a need for revamped policy and programmatic interventions.

Precarious state of child labour:

• Global scenario: As of 2021, 152 million children around the world are still in child labour, 73 million of them in hazardous work.
• National Sample Survey report 2017-18: 95% of the children in the age group of 6-13 years are attending education while in the age group of 14-17 years, the share is just 79.6%.
• Census of India 2011:1 million working children in the age group of 5-14 years, out of whom 8.1 million are in rural areas mainly engaged as cultivators (26%) and agricultural labourers (32.9%).
• UNESCO estimates: Based on 2011 Census, 38.1 million children as “out of school” (18.3% of total children in the age group of 6-13 years).
• Rapid Survey on Children 2013-14: Jointly undertaken by Ministry of Women and Child Development and UNICEF, found that less than half of children in the age group of 10-14 years have completed primary education.
• Understanding the trend: Child labour in India decreased in the decade 2001 to 2011, and while it has declined globally to,o the rate of reduction has slowed by two-thirds in most recent four-year period.

Measures taken: A right combination of policy and programmatic interventions such as -

• Policy interventions: Like Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) 2005, the Right to Education Act 2009 and the Mid-Day Meal Scheme.
• National Child Labour Project: Concerted efforts towards convergence of government schemes.
• Ratifying International Labour Organization Conventions Nos. 138 and 182 in 2017: Upheld commitment to the elimination of child labour, including those engaged in hazardous occupations.
• Ministry of Labour and Employment-operated online PENCIL portal: Allows government officials, law enforcement agencies and non-governmental organisations to share information and coordinate on child labour cases at the national, state and local levels for effective enforcement of child labour laws.

Impact of the pandemic:

• Risk of backtracking gains: With increased economic insecurity, lack of social protection and reduced household income due to pandemic, poor children are being pushed towards exploitative work.
• Challenges in education: Digital divide is worsening inequity in access to education.
  • NSS Report ‘Household Social Consumption on Education in India’, 2017-18: Only 24% of Indian households had access to an Internet facility, proportions were 15% among rural households and 42% among urban households.
  • Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2020 survey: Only a third of total enrolled children received some kind of learning materials from their teachers.

Way forward:

• Global vision: We, governments, employers, unions, civil society organisations and even individuals, must rise and pledge to ‘Take Action against Child Labour’ as a part of the UN’s declaration of 2021 as the International Year for the Elimination of Child Labour.
  • Upholding Sustainable Development Goal 8.7, working towards ending child labour in all its forms by 2025.
• Evolve strategic partnerships and collaborations: Involving government, employers, trade unions, community-based organisations and child labour families to realise the vision.