IMPROVEMENT IN FINANCIAL AND SOCIAL
CONDITION OF CHILD LABOUR
Child Labour is a
complex and multi-dimensional socio-economic problem. The data
on child labour is generated through the decennial census. The
National Sample Survey Organisation also conducts surveys on various
aspects including child labour at regular intervals. During the
Xth plan, a provision has been made for conducting two surveys
on child labour.
The new strategy
proposed to be adopted during the Tenth Plan for the elimination
of child labour is as follows:
- Policy and programmes for elimination
of child labour would be continued in a more focussed, integrated
and convergent manner.
- The National Child Labour Projects
(NCLPs) would be expanded to cover 150 child labour endemic
districts.
- Child Labour efforts would be
linked with the scheme of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (Education For
All) of Ministry of Human Resource Development to attempt to
ensure that children in the age group of 5-8 years get directly
linked to schools and the older children are mainstreamed to
the formal education system through the rehabilitation centres
of NCLPs.
- Efforts will be made to strengthen
the formal education mechanism in the child labour endemic areas
in the country both in terms of quality and numbers in such
a manner as to provide an attractive schooling system to the
child labour force and its parents so that motivational levels
of both the parents and such children are high and sending these
children to school becomes an attractive proposition.
- It is also proposed to engage
master vocational trainer for each NCLP for training of vocational
teachers of the NCLP schools in order to lay emphasis on vocational
training.
- Convergence with ongoing schemes
of the Department of Education, Rural Development, Health and
Women & Child Development would be critical for the ultimate
attainment of the objective of elimination of child labour in
a time bound manner.
- A provision to attach a Medical
Doctor for every 20 schools to take care of the primary health
needs of the children has also been provided.
The problem of
child labour requires to be dealt through sustained efforts over
a period of time. Government is committed to the goal of eradication
of child labour in all its forms. Considering the nature and magnitude
of the problem a gradual and sequential approach has been adopted
to withdraw and rehabilitate child labour beginning with the children
working in hazardous occupations.
This information
was given by the Minister of State for Labour Shri Vijay Goel
in the Lok Sabha today.
