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Child Labor and Education

↑in Bangladesh

Introduction In Japan, children between 7 and 15 years old have to go to school to study as a

compulsory education. Few children work like adults in their childhood. But looking back

on the world history, earlier age children work to help their parents or to make their living.

And now the situation of children still remains. When I knew the fact that child labor still

remains, I thought they should take education. Through the researches, I've focused on

child education. Education can be one of means to

slip out of poverty and also can help them to keep

their health or to protect their safety. But on the

other hand, it is necessary to earn money at once

even if they were mere children for keeping their

life. That's why child labor is the problem which is

hard to solve.

History: Why did the issue become a problem? In earlier period, child labor was not a big

problem because children used to accompany their

fathers and work in agriculture and other jobs. Then

most children didn't go to school, which was natural

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thing. So children usually help their parents in their daily life. In the late 1700's and early

1800's, in England, the number of child labor had rapidly increased. Then in England, the

Industrial Revolution was happened. Power- driven machines replaces hand labor for the

making of most manufactured things. Many factories are built with these machines and

much workforce were needed to make them work. The owners of these factories found a

new source of labor, which was good to run their machines. It was children. No much

strength was needed and children could be cheaper labor force than adults could be. So

not only the adults but children were forced to work. During this period, it was very

common to find children working in factories. In 1788, more than 60% of workers in textile

mills of England and Scotland were children. By the end of 19th century, child labor wasn't

regarded as a major problem. As the idea of human rights spread out, it became an

important issue.

Why is child labor a problem? ILO, international labor organization, says “The

term “child labor” is often defined as work that deprives

children of their childhood, their potential and their

dignity, and that is harmful to physical and mental

development.” It also means there are children forced to

do work which violate their human rights.

Child Labor Public Education Project, a NPO related

to child labor problem, says that child labor involves at

least one of the following characteristics.

• Violates a nation’s minimum age laws

• Threatens children’s physical, mental,

or emotional well-being

• Involves intolerable abuse, such as child slavery, child trafficking, debt bondage,

forced labor, or illicit activities

• Prevents children from going to school

• Uses children to undermine labor standards

Main Examples of Child Labor

・Related to industry

→Kathmandu, Nepal,

India

Carpet making in

Pakistan

・Working in the firm

→Sugar cane firm, Brazil

・Child prostitution

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Current situation: Child labor and law According to the statistics given by ILO and another official agencies, 73 million children

between 10 to 14 years old are employed in economic activities all over the world. The

international law exists against the situation. The Convention Concerning Minimum Age for

Admission to Employment was adopted by International Labor Organization in 1973. The

minimum age for labor depends on each country but it is decided that the minimum age in

the world is 15 years old. Each country can decide the minimum age over 15. Some

exceptions are permitted unless it is harming their health or school work.

Child Labor, Education and Poverty

Child labor problem are closely related to poverty. Around the world growing gaps

between rich and poor in recent

decades have forced millions of

children out of school and into work.

Young children have to work

because their parents are extremely

poor. Poverty is the biggest reason

why children work. As one of the

evidence, the area which has the

largest number of child labor is sub-

Saharan Africa, which is one of the

poorest part of the world. Large numbers of children work in commercial agriculture,

The minimum age in Japan

In Japan, children over the age of 15 are

regarded as a labor and in the case of children

at the age of 13 and 14, it needs to get

permission of the Labor Standards Inspection

Office to work. Then the work such as

newspaper delivery can be allowed.

And children under 13 years old can't work

without actors and actresses from the reason of

their welfare.

Examples of violating law Nepal minimum age of 14 for most work plantation and brick kilns are exempt. Kenya prohibits children under 16 from industrial work. Bangladesh specifies a minimum age for work but sets no regulations on domestic work or agricultural work

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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.

Other current causes of global child labor are the following

• limited access to education

• repression of workers' rights

• limited prohibitions on child labor

Now I'd like to focus on the first cause. Poor children and their families may rely upon

child labor in order to improve their

chances of attaining basic

necessities. More than one-fourth

of the world's people live in

extreme poverty, according to 2005

U.N. statistics. In 2006,

approximately 75 million children

were not in school. It means

children has just limited future

opportunities. If they didn't get

education, they could get a job

which needs technical skills and

much knowledge. The payment of

these jobs are usually higher than

the simple physical labor work. The poor children have no choice but doing the similar

work to that of their parents. From this point of view, education are important and

necessary.

But 2009 report by the United Nations estimated that achieving universal education for

the world's children would cost $10-30 billion -- about 0.7% - 2.0% of the annual cost of

global military spending. It is quite difficult for poor countries to achieve it.

Education are needed not only for their future job but for their health. Without

education, people couldn't learn how to keep their health. In fact the number of people who

have HIV virus or are affected water pollution in poor countries is more than that in

developed countries. They don't know how to protect themselves For ending child labor, it

is need to improve both the situation of poverty and education system.

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Ending child labor

I think it is difficult to

completely solve child labor

problem. And I also think the

most effective solution is

education. The most difficult

point of child labor is that child

labor is not completely wrong; it

of course helps them make their

living so it is need for them.

Ironically, when asked, most of

them are happy with their lives and do not want to study as they are 'already earning

money and that is what is the motive of studying'. This was what these workers were

reported saying when the college offered a work study program.

I think the first thing to do is to make these people or countries understand the

importance of education. It can become the basis for solving child labor problem. We in

developed countries can appeal to the importance to the world.

References

The povertist http://ipperoad.blog94.fc2.com/blog-entry-239.html Child labor http://www.childlabor.in/index.htm Child Labor Public Education Project http://www.continuetolearn.uiowa.edu/laborctr/child_labor/contact.html Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child_labour Save the children India http://support.savethechildren.in/Children-

labour/index.php?pinid=113039660&gclid=CM2dsPzS060CFQJKpgodw3eBlA

ILO

http://www.ilo.org/ipec/lang--en/index.htm