• Working children and education

Working children and education

Could India’s child labour laws be doing more harm than good? In 2006 the Government of India introduced new laws against the employment of children under the age of 14 in domestic work, agriculture and other industries. However, this collection of newspaper articles written by NGOs and individuals in India argues that, unless the underlying causes of child labour are addressed, these punitive approaches are likely to further harm, rather than help child labourers.

Concerns raised about the new laws include:

• the laws criminalise working children
• the approach taken does not address the reasons why children work: in order that they and their families can survive
• the government has not made a commitment to children’s right to education; this is one of the reasons that children work
• government raids to enforce the laws only worsen the situation for the child as they are forced to work in worse conditions and in secrecy.

The articles emphasise the need to address the underlying causes of child labour, particularly poverty, to ensure that children are able to receive an education, and that the interests of the child are put foremost in efforts to address child labour. This requires, many authors note, that the views of children themselves be taken into account.

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