Landscaping Prevalence and Trends in Child Work and Schooling and Their Intersection in India Ellina Samantroy
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Landscaping Prevalence and Trends in Child Work and Schooling and their Intersection in India Ellina Samantroy Landscaping Prevalence and Trends in Child Work and Schooling and their Intersection in India Ellina Samantroy The findings, interpretations and conclusions expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of UNICEF. Any part of this publication may be freely reproduced if accompanied by the following citation: Samantroy (2021). Landscaping Prevalence and Trends in Child Work and Schooling and their Intersection in India. Compendium Paper. UNICEF Innocenti, Florence, Italy. Correspondence should be addressed to: [email protected]. Cover image: UNICEF/UNI187956/Kaur © 2021 Landscaping Prevalence and Trends in Child Work and Schooling and their Intersection in India Ellina Samantroy 1. The context determinant in understanding the situation of The Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) child workers, the deficit of decent work, and emphasize a global commitment to end all youth employment generally. Estimates forms of child labour. SDG Target 8.7 under indicate that a very large number of children Goal 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth) in child labour are completely deprived of calls for a need to “take immediate and education: globally, in the 5–14 age group, effective measures to eradicate forced there are 36 million children engaged in child labour, end modern slavery and human labour who do not go to school – 32 per cent trafficking and secure the prohibition and of all those child workers in this age range elimination of the worst forms of child (ILO, 2017). However, those who attend labour, including recruitment and use of child school also suffer on account of their soldiers, and by 2025 end child labour in all engagement in child labour during out-of- its forms” (UNDP, n.d.). The International school hours: the time spent in work Labour Organization’s (ILO) Global Estimates activities interferes with their ability to of Child Labour report (ILO, 2017) reflects on engage in the learning process, and affects the challenges of ending child labour, and their performance. In the Indian context, child states that globally a total of 152 million labour and early school leaving are children (64 million girls and 88 million boys) intertwined, and the reasons for both include are involved in child labour – almost 1 child poverty, access to education and gender- in 10 worldwide. The regions of Africa and related social pressures. Furthermore, the Asia and the Pacific together host 9 out of gendered vulnerabilities associated with every 10 children involved in child labour school leaving have important implications (ILO, 2017). Alongside factors such as low for the child labour situation and children’s household incomes, agricultural economies activities. There is no denying the fact that commonly using child labour, and children in girls face particular difficulty in entering and family units engaged as contributing family remaining in school, owing to such factors as workers, the role of education and its early marriage and the demands of domestic relationship with child labour are extremely responsibilities within their own homes. Girls important. In countries where a high level of are also particularly vulnerable to the worst education is not required for the jobs forms of child labour, such as commercial available, many parents prefer not to spend sexual exploitation and hidden forms of child money on their children’s education, but to labour in domestic work. Young women in put them straight to work. On the other hand, many regions have fewer opportunities in the in countries with a high requirement for labour market and face greater difficulties in skilled labour, parents prefer to invest in their transitioning to decent work; they are often children’s education (ILO, 2015). confined to a narrower range of occupational opportunities than are their male The intersection of schooling and child counterparts (ILO, 2015). labour is considered an extremely significant 1 Landscaping Prevalence and Trends in Child Work and Schooling and their Intersection in India Ellina Samantroy Against this background, the present paper is in rural areas.1 This implies that a based on analysis from the Indian context, proportionately higher percentage of children and tries to construct a broad overview of the in rural areas are engaged in marginal trends and patterns of child labour among activities, mainly agricultural activities, which boys and girls, and of schooling in India, are seasonal in nature (Samantroy et al., including vocational training. The paper aims 2017). to understand the linkages between child Figure 1: Child workers in India, 2001–2011 work and schooling (access and learning), and their potential determinants. The age- 5.0% and gender-specific challenges related to 5.9% 2001 12.7 11.3 3.9% child work and schooling are also outlined in 2011 10.1 4.3% the paper. It also reflects particularly on the Incidence in 8.1 percentage and linkages between education and child labour magnitude in in the context of COVID-19. The paper is numbers (million) based on an analysis of data derived from 2.9% the Census of India and the Periodic Labour 2.1% 2.0 Force Survey (PLFS) of the Ministry of 1.3 Statistics and Programme Implementation Rural Urban Total Source: Census 2001 and 2011. (MoSPI), Government of India. It also relies on secondary literature for a broader The number of child workers (magnitude) in analysis. the 5–14 age group declined from 12.7 million in 2001 to 10.1 million in 2011. 2. Decline in child workers in Census Similarly, child workers as a percentage of An analysis of Census data reveals that, total children (incidence) in that age group between 2001 and 2011, child labour also decreased between the two periods, decreased in terms of both magnitude and from 5.0 per cent in 2001 to 3.9 per cent in incidence. However, the decline is limited to 2011. While the incidence of child labour rural areas. A report by UNICEF highlighted decreased significantly in rural India, from the fact that the number of child workers in 5.9 per cent in 2001 to 4.3 per cent in 2011, urban areas has increased, indicating the urban India showed a marginal increase – growing demand for child workers in low- from 2.1 per cent in 2001 to 2.9 per cent.2 paid informal jobs in these settings. Low This increased incidence of child labour in incomes and the lack of employment opportunities in rural areas continue to push 1 The Census categorizes child workers as either main families out of their rural homes. There was a workers – meaning they work all year round – or marginal, meaning they work for 6 months or less per significant growth in the number of marginal year. 2According to the 2011 Census, child worker workers, with the difference between main magnitude is defined as the absolute number of child workers, and child worker incidence as the proportion and marginal workers being more prominent of child workers as a percentage of total children in the corresponding age group. 2 Landscaping Prevalence and Trends in Child Work and Schooling and their Intersection in India Ellina Samantroy urban areas needs further investigation, as problem of child labour persists. This the increase could be attributed to the requires a systematic investigation, growth of new census towns (CTs) particularly of the relationship between (Samantroy et al., 2017).3 trends in education for children and their participation in the workforce. It was evident With regard to the sectoral participation of from the Census estimates that, out of a total children, it was also evident from the 2011 of 4.4 million main child workers aged 5–14 Census that agriculture had emerged as a in the country in 2011, 2.8 million were prominent sector employing children. In rural literate – 65.3 per cent, up from 47.6 per cent areas, it was mostly child workers in the 5–14 in 2001. This improvement could be age group who were engaged in agriculture attributed to education reforms, such as the (40.1 per cent as agricultural labourers and Right to Education (2009) (Samantroy et al., 31.5 per cent as cultivators).4 Meanwhile, 2017). However, only 4 per cent of child according to the Census, in urban areas, 83.4 workers had received education up to the per cent of children in the 5–14 age group school-leaving certificate and beyond. It is were mostly engaged in other (occupations also true that children continue to work, other than household industry). Apart from despite improvement in literacy levels. Some this, children were also engaged in studies have documented several reasons for household industries (rural: 4.6 per cent; children leaving school, such as: i) distance urban: 7.3 per cent). to school; ii) dilapidated school buildings; iii) absence of drinking water and toilet facilities; 3. Educational levels and trends in child iv) lack of separate toilets for girls; v) labour insufficient number of teachers; and vi) The role of education as an effective strategy irregular attendance of teachers. Such things for ameliorating the problem of child labour make education an ordeal for children. The cannot be denied: there is a close link timing of the formal school day is rigid and between education and child labour. With the often conflicts with children’s other activities, introduction of proactive education policies especially in rural areas. Even when children in India, access to education has improved do go to school, they do not find any significantly. But despite these efforts, the incentive to complete the various school 3 Places that satisfy the following criteria are termed stages, since the post-school employment census towns (CTs): (a) a minimum population of 5,000; (b) at least 75 per cent of the male main scenario remains bleak and there are no working population engaged in non-agricultural pursuits; and (c) density of population of at least 400 additional financial returns to schooling.