Child Labour and Education

The 8 millennium development goals and other education targets will only ever be achieved if all forms of child labour are eradicated and all children have the opportunity of full-time quality education.

Free, quality, basic education would cost around $10 billion dollars a year which is the same as 4 days global military expenditure.

"Education is a torch that can help to guide and illuminate the lives of those children currently excluded from access to education. Education is the acknowledged responsibility of all governments to ensure that everyone is given the chance to benefit from it in these ways. It is also in the fundamental interests of society to see that this happens, progress with economic and social development depends on it" UNESCO Education for All monitoring report 2003/4

At the World Education Forum in Dakar April 2000, 185 governments endorsed the Dakar Framework for Action to achieve 6 education goals.
The six goals are:

by 2015 all children of primary school age will have access to free schooling of acceptable quality

gender disparities in education will be eliminated by 2005

levels of adult illiteracy will be halved

early childhood care and education will be expanded

learning opportunities for young people and adults will be greatly increased

all aspects of education quality will be improved

Despite efforts from national and international groups it is clear that the world is not on target to reach the 2015 education goals.

There are currently 57 countries, representing over 30% of the world’s population, that are moving away from the goal of EFA.

Current estimates place the funding gap (the amount needed minus the donations given) at over US $5 billion.

The HIV and AIDS pandemic is also impeding progress with many teachers lost.

Children with no access to education or encouragement to attend school have little alternative but to enter the labour market where they are often forced to work in dangerous and exploitative conditions.

Furthermore, school attendance puts a limit on the number of hours a child could potentially be working and school attendance is usually not compatible with the worst forms of child labour.

Child Labour and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
In 2000, all of the governments of the world made 8 promises. These 8 promises – or goals – set targets for the international community on progress towards a more equal, just and sustainable world. The target date for the achievement of these goals – like the education goals - is 2015.

"The MDGs are achievable if we act now" Ban Ki-moon, Secretary General of the UN (MDG Report 2007)

The 8 goals are:
Goal 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
Goal 2: Achieve universal primary education
Goal 3: Promote gender quality and empower women
Goal 4: Reduce child mortality
Goal 5: Improve maternal health
Goal 6: Combat HIV & AIDS other diseases
Goal 7: Ensure environmental sustainability
Goal 8: Develop a global partnership for development

"In the Millennium Declaration of 2000, world leaders set forth a new vision for humanity, they committed themselves 'to spare no effort to free our fellow men, women and children from the abject and dehumanising conditions and extreme poverty' We must recognise the nature of the global trust at stake and the danger that many developing countries' hopes could be irredeemably pierced if even the greatest anti-poverty movement in history is insufficient to break from 'business as usual'. Are we on course to look back, in 2015, and say that no effort was spared?"
(Meeting the Challenges of a Changing World - Annual Report of the Secretary-General on the Work of the UN, 2006)

Focus on Goal number 2 – Education for All
Target 1: Ensure that, by 2015, children everywhere, boys and girls alike, will be able to complete a full course of primary schooling

According to the UN, there has been some progress towards the attainment of this goal but there is still a long way to go. (UN MDG Report 2007)
For example:

Net enrolment in Sub-Saharan Africa rose from 57% in 1990 to 70% in 2005 and in developing regions as a whole, from 80% to 88% during the same period.

In Southern Asia, net enrolment currently stands at 90% while in Eastern Asia it is 95%.

The highest net enrolment rate is seen in Latin America and the Caribbean where the figure stands at 97%.

While these figures look promising, it is important to note that they do not give us any indication of how long children stay in school after they enrol or the quality of education that they receive when they are there. In some cases, children are enrolled but never actually attend school. Although the enrolment numbers are increasing, in many cases, there has not been a corresponding increase of investment in infrastructure and many schools are struggling to provide adequate resources and facilities such as teachers, classrooms, books, teaching material & toilets. The lack of these basics often discourages children, especially girls, from attending school. It is also important to notes that these figures do not incorporate data from countries in conflict or post-conflict situations (data is difficult to collect). If these figures were includes, the global estimates would be less optimistic.

The UN also notes that girls and children from poor rural families are least likely to attend school:

31% of children of school going age in rural areas are out of school (compared to 18% for urban areas) and

37% of children in the poorest 20% of the population are out of school (compared to 12% for the richest 20%).

Overall, this means that poor girls from rural areas the least likely, of all groups, to attend school. Even when enrolled, these are also the most likely group to drop out of school.

Also, looking at Sub-Saharan Africa in more detail, the figures indicate that 30% of children of primary school going age are not in school at all. In many cases, these children will come from some of the poorest, most vulnerable and marginalised groups in these countries - this is, those that are in most need of education that will give them access to the opportunities to break free from the cycle of poverty. Furthermore, according to the ILO, Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest incidence of child labour - the link between child labour and education becomes strikingly apparent. Free compulsory, quality education to the age of 15 is crucial in the elimination of child labour.

"Child labour is an issue of grave importance. It must become a top priority for all governments of the world. How can the world move into the twenty-first century with children still being exploited for their labour and denied their basic right to an education?" Craig Kielburger While the second millennium development goal relates directly to Education, Child Labour has an impact on progress towards achieving all eight of the goals.