Hi all,
Apologies for being out of commission for a month. I was busy working on my grad school applications and was on a short break with family. My next entry is a 2-part entry because I feel I have a lot to say and because the issue I am examining is slightly complex. As always, I encourage you all to post your thoughts and ideas and turn this into more of an interactive discussion.
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I was 16 when I first met Chottu, a nine year old with a missing row of teeth who came to work for our family, and I remember being very confused when he first smiled at me. Not only was I staunchly against child labor, I also had little regard for the kind of work someone his age could really do. Yet, on noticing his emaciated body and the desperate need for money that his uncle sniffled of when parting with Chottu, I realized a job could do him some good. Over the eight months that he worked with us, Chottu became not just a keener worker, but also a healthier boy, a student of English (which my sister taught him), a happier person and a member of our family. My next 2 blog entries, supporting child labor, is based largely off my experience living with Chottu.
Part 1: Right to education?
In an ideal world, I would have liked to have Chottu studying in the school where I currently work, empowering his mind and trying to rise out of terrible poverty. Despite government grants to families whose children attend public schools, Chottu missed out on ever seeing a classroom in his village. Instead, his parents cruelly planted him at the age of six to plow their fields and tend to the livestock. The reason was simple: in a gross oversight, the government continued paying his family a grant even though Chottu was not attending school. A policy meant to keep poor children in school was backfiring by sending them to work in the baking hot fields. The reason? India's infamous bureaucracy (which makes problem identification harder), corruption, and simply, negligence.
Lets even suppose poor families are sending their children to school for reasons other than money. The quality of functional literacy provided to such children is minimal at best. Asia Child Rights, an NGO, reports that India's public schools are sparse in number as well as quality (read more here). Teachers are frequently absent, educational supplies are missing and, in some cases, social taboos prevent girls from being sent to school. Is a sub-standard education for such a student more valuable than a job that can fill her stomach? Using little argument around morality and answering this question with pure common sense, I say: not really.
Today, India has the world's second largest population and is rapidly growing into an economic nightmare for employment pundits. The CIA reports India's current unemployment rate as 7.2%. For the uninitiated, unemployment rates are based on adults more than 18 years of age who have been actively seeking a job for the last 3 months. In India, where a majority of the population resides in villages and does not have access to census bureaus or employment offices to report unemployment (unlike in developed nations), this number is bound to be much higher. My point is simply that despite the high economic growth India has experienced over the past decade, there are too many people to fill too little jobs. What is the incentive for a poor family to send their child for a basic education only to have him flounder around later for a job? Economically and practically, this is a bad proposition.
It is therefore important to appreciate such issues surrounding child education in India before brushing child labor off as a malignant phenomena that needs to be urgently done away with. When India's system of carrot and stick are not functioning in the favor of child education, child labor becomes a necessary method to survive.
I was expecting an explosive blog post, but this is timid.
ReplyDeleteChild labor is a rational and more often than not a non-coercive decision made by individuals because the payoff from attending a "school" (=broken buildings, no teachers, no books) is less than that from working in the farm/elsewhere.
Of course this means that children are unable to invest in human capital, but it is far better than systematically preventing them from learning life-skills (working). Banning child labor means that the child-labor "sector" is unregulated, leading to coerced labor, poor working conditions, etc.
The same goes for prostitution and drugs.
Hey Mayank,
ReplyDeleteI have not seen you in years. Hope to run into you soon. You have a lot of good things to say, I am glad to read your blog.
I think, there is also a case to be made about vocational training. Its easier to learn things when you are younger, and if one's future is in farming why not start early. In fact, starting early will give the child years of experience and a competitive edge over, let's say a neighbor's farmer whose son goes to school and ends up a farmer.
Also, a lot of Chhotu type people that I have come to know have actually gone to school and done very well till Class 5 that was offered in their village. But without an option for higher education he was forced towards manual labor. Due to this predicament his younger brother quit school in Class 2 only. The point of the story was the education system is at fault and it can not be improved by fixing primary education unless secondary education is made more accessible.
Lastly, we must understand the taboo against child labor is in the context of exploitation (like children making fireworks and peddling drugs). But the issue often gets misunderstood and having child help at one's home is considered bad. I have personally been friends with and played cricket with many of these people growing up and there is not one thing that I would call unfair or inhumane about their living arrangements.
This is my first involvement in blogosphere. I hope I added some value.
Cheers
The fact remains that child labor is bad . because not everyone is providing with good living arrangements , food n education to them like your sister. Many of them are physically abused and mentally tortured . Its better they live in free and safe environment of their parent's home with little or nothing rather than be employed by some goons who have no value for humans and treat the underprevileged like dirt. Child labor is total no no ...... unless they happen to find some good samaraitans
ReplyDeleteyeah I agree with her there are too many horrible things that happen to children at the hands of some ppl because of domestic child help. As long as this option remains there will always be parents who send thier children to the 'city' from thier villages thinking that thier kids are going to have a better life there But these parents are wrong (sadly).I 've read too many horrifying stories about the domestic help being burnt, raped,sodomised,beaten up (u name it). Not everyone looks after the 'servant' in the required Decent manner, specially when the help is 12 years old. A 12 year old is not even aware of his or her basic rights will not even be able to speak up if illtreated, Cannot protect him or herself against Tyrrany and cruelty and can be easily exploited thats the MAIN reason why I think child labour just doesn't work out.Most of these kids HAVE to leave home in order to work.Because if they are allowed to work why shouldn't they be allowed to shift base from say a village to a city like bombay. And then stuff happens to them in these cities far away from home.
ReplyDeleteEmployement means exploitation - Lets face it when u're an employee the employer will always try and exploit you to the maximum.. Grown people sumtimes don't know how to handle a job , to expect that out of a kid is just cruel.
Child labour should be banned. It should be absolutely illegal to have anyone under the age of 16 working for an establishment ,company ,household etc etc. Or even if the age is made 15 I guess its ok.
Because its just too easy to exploit these children when they are working under you. And these children are too young to stand up for themselves or to even know that they are being wronged.
I dont know what the other alternatives would be to support these kids through thier childhood if child labour were to be banned completely, but I know as long as this option is available the government wont need to come up with alternatives.
I agree and disagree with you to a huge extent.
ReplyDeleteI understand your argument. Yes, many times a child of a lower income background is exploited in his/her own house and made to work long shifts in the feild. He/she may also be deprived of the education he/she deserves and the government won't do a single thing to ensure that the systems they have made are used to full effect.
While i agree this happens, I do not think legalizing child labour is the right option. Lets ignore the fact that not all families treat thier domestic help properly.
But inspite of that, firstly, not all children emplyed as laborors work in domestic settings. They are employed in industries such as fire crackers factories, as cheap labor, and due to the intecracy of the work and chemicals used they often loose thier eyesight and thier health also deteriorates.
Also, sure they will earn enough to feed themselves when they are small, but lets not forget that without an education, they will continue to do these odd jobs and earn measly wages their whole lives. This will not only reduce thier standard of living but also the productivity of the economiy as a whole.
There are many injustices that I can go on about. However, the main point is that these children deserve a childhood. True, its easier said than done, but till the system is not banned, people will continue to exploit it. But once the child education forced by law , the systems will gradually change. The government will become more effective in ensuring the laws are followed and more than that the education system[teachers, methods etc.] will change. Although it will take time, as any major change does, it will happen one day.
That will be the day a child is bounded, but only by his/her dreams! *sigh* :)
Plus, if its a dire need, maybe specific jobs suited for kids should be available for them to perform in the evenings. This way they can study during the day and, due to the severity of life, work to support their family in the evening.
ReplyDeleteThanks for all your comments.
ReplyDeleteAkshay--I think you need to substantiate your argument "it is far better than systematically preventing them from learning life-skills." What is your point?
Varun--Great to have you reading the blog! Your mention of apprenticeships, especially in the arts and handicrafts industry which rural India is abundanct with, is a valid point.
Manka--You seem to be suggesting that the problem is not with children working. Rather, it is with people exploiting them as they work. This is a seperate argument altogether but I think it is commonly linked with the reason for banning child labor. I will touch more on this in Part 2 of my blog.
Shreya--Well structured but do you think banning child labor will have an effect when the economic & educational environment in the country is so poor? In fact, I feel a ban will move children from domestic settings (who are less likely to break the law) to more dangerous, less-regulated industries like fire-crackers or mining.
Yes, i do feel it will have an impact. One cannot expect a drastic change to occur in a couple of years but after a period of around 10yrs, the results will begin to show. And saying that the country's economic and educational environment is poor, is making a very huge generalization. The country has some of the worlds best resources, however they are concentrated in the metros and more urban parts of the country. Its only time before they begin to spread into the rural areas as well.
ReplyDeletePlus, the ban has to be followed by very severe actions taken by the government to ensure it is not misused. This will mean that no company or household should be able to employ children as laborers. In fact, i believe it's easier for households to mold rules than it is for huge corporations and other such businesses.
And again like i said above, if the child and his/her family is in dire need for money, maybe specific jobs suited for kids can be available for them to perform, but only in the evening. This way the child can earn an education and do his/her part in earning a living.
Yeah that is the glaring harsh reality of child labour - exploitation. But u're right thats another topic. Keeping that aside Child labour is still a big nono because like I've allready mentioned dealing with the stress of a job is sometimes too much for grown up individuals to handle so I feel expecting young little kids to deal with work at thier age is just wronge. Also I mentioned that till the time that child labour remains an option the government wont come up with other ways of supporting these kids , and quite frankly why should these kids be expected to take the responsibility of feeding thier stomachs by working at thier age! its the governments duty to look after them.Something else should be done we shouldn't rely on child labour as a way for children to look after themselves,That's expecting them to be adults-which they are not. Its taken for granted that its ok to take away these childrens childhoods. More serious emphases should be paid to educating all children.. Child labour should be done away with and that should be a top priority amongst national concerns.This practise needs to be discouraged for long term benefits.Todays kids are the future of India tomorrow. And these kids are not being educated or formally trained to be able to support themselves as Adults in tomorrows India. Taking away education from them is like taking away a chance for a much better life,and progress for them as well as the country. And expecting them to juggle education with work at thier age is not possible. So yeah maybe right now we havn't come up with the right solutions to this problem but like I said as long as the option of child labour is available no one ever will.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Manka except for the fact that providing for the children is not the government's concern. It is the parents concern. If they can't provide for them they shouldn't have them. This edges onto another topic, however most problems are circular in India. Unless the parents face this starch reality, they wont stop being so irresponsible in producing kids and the government will have an unnecessary burden piled on them on top of the million jobs they already have in a developing country like ours. If its a democracy, it as much the citizen's duty as it is the government's.
ReplyDeleteIn any case, like Manka stated, it is not in any way the child's responsibility and as long as the option of child labor is there, the undeserved burden will always fall upon the child.
I see both Manka and Shreya implying that there are better alternatives to full-time child labor i.e. education or evening labor. My point is not that child labor is a benevolent practice which should continue over education or family; rather, I am underscoring that child labor is a necessary evil needed to counter our shabby education system.
ReplyDeleteBanning it will simply mean more burden for law enforcement agencies, greater shadiness in hiring children (who will continue to seek employment) and wasted resources in general. All this money and time should be spent on updating education infrastructure and tightening child welfare policies.
Banning child labor is akin to treating the symptoms but not the disease. Here, unless the disease of education, social welfare, employment opportunity, etc. is not treated, child labor will not stop, ban or no ban.
Yes, problems in India are often circular and this makes it very difficult to solve them. By adding complex laws around child labor, we would only be complicating the problem even more.