The World Day Against Child Labour is a program launched by International Labour Organization to raise awareness and activism against child labor. It is a sanctioned holiday launched in 2002 by the ILO (International Labour Organization). Every year, this day is celebrated on the 12th of June to foster the worldwide movement against child labor. On this day, various government and local authorities, civil and international societies, workers and employer organizations come together to discuss child labor problems and what they can do to resolve such issues. Every year, World Day Against Child Labour is celebrated under a specific theme. The theme for this year is “Universal Social Protection to End Child Labour.”
The 2022 theme of World Day Against Child Labour is focused on increased investment in social protection systems and schemes to establish solid social protection floors and protect children from child labor. During the initial years, there had been a lot of work in the field of banning child labor. However, the progress got stagnant during the 2016-2020 period. Today, 160 million children under the age of 5 years are also engaged in this practice.
Ways to tackle child labor
The practice of child labor is visible in various parts of the world. Many children can be seen working in factories, fields, shops, and elsewhere. However, different child protection organizations and civil society initiatives have helped in controlling this practice to a few extent. There is a need to amplify the efforts to get better results in the coming years. Here are a few measures that can help in ending child labor across the globe.
Spreading awareness
Spreading awareness about the side effects of child labor can help in reducing the incidents of this evil practice. Many parents push their children into child labor hoping for a better future for themselves and their children. Lack of understanding on the parent’s part hampers the future of child laborers. Therefore, spreading awareness regarding this issue is crucial. Moreover, raising awareness is also helpful for parents and children involved in child labor. Various communities and organizations work towards raising awareness on this matter. The motive is to help parents understand the concept of growth, education, employment, and enterprise opportunities. Understanding these concepts will help them develop a socially and economically developed society. Various NGOs organize theaters and use other forms of performing arts to educate communities about child rights. In addition, they may focus on creating income and educational resources, and access to information services.
Implementation of stringent laws
Policymaking is essential to ensure that there is a long-lasting impact on society. Moreover, to ensure stringent laws are made and followed throughout the country, it is vital to show how changes can bring considerable benefits. Various NGOs and other organizations working for child rights show how their work is bringing a change in society. They use case studies to show the positive impact of their work on child labor. These organizations also maintain coordination between the district and state governments to ensure the laws can be executed properly.
Discouraging people to employ children
The incidents of children working in factories and other places have increased as people are encouraging child labor by hiring underage children as workers. Many industries, including retail and hospitality use child laborers as permanent workers. Today, various NGOs are working to curb this social evil and have been educating locals about reporting such cases. Educating the masses about this inaccurate practice is one of the ways that can bring down cases of child labor.
Supporting NGOs
Certain NGOs work towards raising awareness of child rights. People can search for those NGOs and join them to participate in the volunteering work. For example, NGOs like Save the Children offer immediate help to children who have suffered child labor. Such organizations partner with various state and national government organizations to ensure that the laws relating to child labor are executed properly.
These are some of the ways to tackle child labor. However, the role of education in limiting child labor cannot be left out. It is one of the crucial factors that can bring a huge impact in this field. Let us see how education can help in reducing the cases of child labor.
How can education help in reducing child labor incidents?
It is a known fact that education helps everyone acquire necessary skills. With the help of these skills, anyone can make their life comfortable. By providing the right education to children, the incidents of child labor can be brought down. Early schooling is the best way to pull out children from the job market and equip them with necessary skills that they can use to get a job in the future. Moreover, education and training are the two major drivers of all economic and societal growth.
Various factors work together to enhance the cases of child labor. Some of those factors include the following:
- Poverty and social exclusion
- Labor mobility
- Discrimination and lack of social protection
- Lack of proper education facilities
All these factors are the major contributors to child labor. To curb this issue, World Day Against Child Labour is celebrated every year to raise awareness of child rights and ways to control child labor.
Many universities and educational institutes conduct surveys on child labor and how this issue impacts society at large. They provide insights into various factors that are the reasons for this evil practice. Moreover, these institutes also inform policymakers and the general public about different strategies they can use to control this practice. Here are some of the examples that show what different universities are doing to curb child labor.
Examples of different educational institutes working for child rights
Vietnam National University
The Vietnam National University School of Law is helping the government in the region draft legislation and guidelines. The aim of framing these legislations is to promote public procurement as a way to fight child labor.
Trinidad and Tobago
The Ministry of Labour in Trinidad and Tobago is working with other ministries like the Ministry of Education to improve the quality of education and educate local people about the ways to control child labor.
University of Algarve
The University of Algarve has also decided to join the fight against child labor. To protect children from this practice, the university has decided on educating the masses about the same. The university is designing a dissemination strategy using social media to stop the evil practice of child labor. Moreover, the institute will also publish various articles in national and regional newspapers and other media to educate the general public about the factors that contribute to child labor and what they can do to save children from it.
In addition to these universities and educational institutions, corporate houses are also playing their part in controlling the cases of child labor. For example, Teachmint is providing quality education to children with the help of its initiative TeachBharat. When children will get the right knowledge and skills, they will be able to focus on their future. As a result, the cases of child labor will go down.
Teachmint offers the best-in-class education ERP solutions to educational institutes. Do check it out to provide a hassle-free experience to your stakeholders and increase your student enrolment percentage. With our advanced learning management system, you can improve the teaching-learning experience.
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