Child Labor and School Enrollment in Rural India

Acknowledgement The researcher wishes to express her gratitude towards her social studies teacher who was abundantly helpful. The researcher would also like to thank her parents for their kind co-operation and for supporting her financially throughout this assessment. Lastly, the researcher would like to thank the almighty god, without whom nothing is possible. Introduction This assessment is based on child labour.

Child labour refers to the employment of children in any work that deprives children of their childhood, interferes with their ability to attend regular school, and that is mentally, physically, socially or morally dangerous and harmful. This practice is considered exploitative by many and legislations across the world prohibit child labour. Statement of Problem What are the effects of child labour in Cumberland village, East Canje Berbice? Reasons for Selecting Area of Research

The reasons for selecting this area of research is because the prevalence of child labour among schools in the researcher’s village is high; the researcher would also like to study the factors related to child labour, like the reasons for children working, problems faced by the children, work place conditions, etc. Method of Investigation The method of investigation used for this project was in the form of a questionnaire. The questionnaire was used because of the following reasons: * It is cheaper It does not require as much effort from the questioner as verbal or telephone surveys * It has standardized answers that make it simple to compile data. Instrument Used to Collect Data Questionnaire 135 New Street Cumberland East Canje, Berbice. 21st September, 2012. Dear Sir/Madam, The researcher is a fifth form student of New Amsterdam Secondary School. The researcher is pursuing a course of subject in the Caribbean Examination Council (CXC), Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) in Social Studies, which the researcher would be writing in 2013.

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The researcher is required to conduct a research on a school based assessment (SBA) based on the topic child labour. The researcher is hereby seeking your assistance. To complete this questionnaire you are required to put a tick ? in the appropriate box. Thank you for your co-operation. Yours Truly, Fifth Form Student of N. A. S. S Nafesia Hack. Caribbean Examination Council Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate School Based Assessment Social Studies 2013 Topic: Child Labour Instruction: To complete this questionnaire you are required to put a tick ? in the appropriate boxes. 1. What is your sex? Male ? Female ? 2.

What is your age? 16-20 ? 21-30 ? 31-40 ? 3. What is your ethnicity? African ? East Indian ? Mixed ? 4. What is your religion? Christian ? Hindu ? Muslim ? 5. How much have you heard about child labour? A lot ? A little bit ? Not Much ? 6. What comes to your mind when ‘child labour’ is mentioned? Children being forced to work ? Children working in terrible environments ? Children working to earn a living due to poverty ? 7. What do you think creates awareness about child labour most effectively? Internet ?

Newspapers ? Television ? 8. Which gender do you think is more affected by child labour? Male ? Female ? Both ? 9. Do you think child labour is serious in this community? No ? Yes ? 10. What do you think is the reason for child labour? Education ? Political Systems ? Poverty ? 11. What kind of industry mostly appears in your village? Agriculture ? Household ? Textile ? 12. Do you think a child below the age of sixteen going to work is right? It’s up to them ?

They should not cut down on their childhood ? It’s a horrible concept ? 13. Do you think that enough is being done to reduce child labour? No ? Yes ? 14. Who do you think can help to reduce child labour? Schools ? Government ? Business Organizations ? 15. Do you see the problem of child labour being eradicated in the long run? No ? Yes ? Procedures Used to Collect Data To gather data for this assessment the researcher constructed a questionnaire which consisted of fifteen questions.

In Cumberland village, there is an average of two hundred (200) households. It was calculated that a sample of 10% was necessary in order to ensure accurate information on the causes, consequences and measures to reduce child labour in the village (10%/200=20). The household was selected by random selection. Twenty (20) questionnaires will be distributed to those homes. It was expected that at least fifteen (15) of these questionnaires will be returned. A total of twenty (20) questionnaires were distributed to the residents of the selected homes, fifteen (15) was returned while the other five (5) wasn’t returned.

The questionnaires were delivered on 6th October, 2012 and received on 12th October, 2012. Of these respondents, sixty percent (60%) were females and forty percent (40%) were males. Presentation & Explanation of Data Source: Question 5 - How much have you heard about child labour? Figure 1 – This bar chart represents that 50% of the respondents have heard a lot about child labour, 30% of the respondents have heard a little bit about child labour while the other 20% of the respondents haven’t heard much about child labour. Source: Question 2 - Which gender do you think is more affected by child labour?

Figure 2 – This cylinder chart represents that 60% of the respondents are of the view that males are more affected by child labour while the other 30% of the respondents are of the view that females are more affected by child labour. Source: Question 10 - What do you think is the reason for child labour? Figure 3 – This pyramid chart represents that 60% of the respondents are of the view that the reason for child labour is poverty, 20% of the respondents are of the view that the reason for child labour is education while the other 20% of the respondents are of the view that the reason for child labour are the political systems.

Source: Question 14 - Who do you think can help to reduce child labour? Figure 4 – This pie chart represents that 40% of the respondents are of the view that schools can help to reduce child labour, also 40% of the respondents are of the view that governments can help to reduce child labour while the other 20% of the respondents are of the view that business organizations can help to reduce child labour. Analysis & Interpretation of Data Twenty (20) questionnaires were distributed randomly to both male and female, ages 16-40.

The majority of respondents agreed that child labour is dangerous and harmful. The research reveals that 60% of the respondents are of the view that males are more affected by child labour. Throughout the village, many children work, full-time whether it’s male or female. They do not go to school and have little or no time to play; they are also denied the chance to be children. More than 50% of them are exposed to the worst forms of child labour such as work in hazardous environments, slavery or other forms of forced labour.

It was also noted that 60% of the respondents are of the view that the main reason for child labour is poverty, since income from a child’s work is usually crucial for his or her own survival, or for that of the household. Immature and inexperience child labourers may be completely unaware of the short-term risks involved in their work, long-term health problems are common in communities where children are forced to work with dangerous chemicals.

Last but not least, 40% of the respondents are of the view that primary school education which is free, accessible and compulsory does more than any other single factor to reduce exploitative child labour. Reducing the costs of education and ensuring that the quality standards are high will be a monumental step towards eradicating the problem of child labour in the long run. Child labour does more than deprive children of their education, mental and physical development – their childhood is stolen. Findings The researcher found that: 60% of respondents are of the view that males are more affected by child labour. * 60% of the respondents are of the view that poverty is the greatest cause behind child labour. * 20% of the respondents are of the view that the lack of meaningful alternatives, such as affordable schools and quality education is another major cause driving children to harmful labour. * 80% of the respondents are of the view that the major consequence of child labour is that children face many physical dangers and death from forced labour. 80% of the respondents are of the view that the government and schools can help to reduce child labour. Recommendations & Implementation Strategies Recommendations * Primary Education - should be compulsory and free. * Education and Training for Women - Studies show when women are educated, trained and empowered, child labour drops. * Social Services - should help children and families survive in crises, such as loss of home and shelter. Give jobs to children’s adult relatives - This way, the family won’t suffer and this should indeed be helpful. * The government should ban the worst forms of child labour such as bonded labour, etc. Implementation Strategies * Assisting with developing and implementing national policies on child labour problems. * Creating awareness on the problem nationwide, in communities and workplaces. * Strengthening existing organizations and motivating a broad alliance of partners to acknowledge and act against child labour. Bibliography

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