P. A. Chacko
U N’s world Day 2020 against Child Labour focuses on the impact of the Covid crisis on children and child labour.
There is greater need to protect children from child labour, now more than ever in this critical period.
UN estimates say that every tenth child in the world is in child labour.
Childhood is the time when the brain of the child is developed. It is a time of preparation for manhood and womanhood.
Children are sucked into the labour market due to poverty. But every child has a human and fundamental right to education and integrated growth..
Article 21 A of the Fundamental rights of the Indian Constitution guarantees every child between 6-14 free and compulsory education.
The 2011 Indian national census shows child labourers, aged 5-14 as 10.1 million.
According to the child Labour (prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2016, Government of India, ‘No child shall be employed or permitted to work in any occupation or process.’ Exceptions are children helping in the family outside school hours, child artists in entertainment industry, but such activities shall not adversely affect school hours.
The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act or Right to Education Act (RTE) 2009, Government of India, prescribe the modalities of the importance of free and compulsory education for children between the age of 6 to 14 years in India under Article 21A of the Indian Constitution.
According to the Fact sheet of ILO, 2017, Inequality, lack of educational opportunities, slow demographic transition, traditions and cultural expectations contribute to the persistence of child labour in India.
One only hopes that the lawmakers, the law keepers and the judiciary will honestly shoulder the responsibility of promoting elimination of child labour and of helping sustainable growth of the child towards mature personality and adulthood.