The Impact of Child Labour on Educational

Attainment: Evidence from India

By
Yashodhara A Bhatt
Assistant Professor (Adhoc)
Five Years Integrated Programme B com-LL.B
Department of Law
Veer Narmad South Gujarat University
Surat

The Impact of Child Labour on Educational

Attainment: Evidence from India
Prof. Y.A.Bhatt

Introduction
1 in 7 children around the world is a child labourer. That is 218 million children who are
working instead of going to school. They work in factories and in fields, they sew footballs and tshirts, they pick cotton and cocoa, they mine, they dig, they serve in homes, they fight in wars.
They are trapped in poverty with little hope of escape. They have been denied their rights to a
childhood and full-time, quality education. Children, as one of the most vulnerable groups in
society, should be afforded our highest standards of duty and care. They need protection from
exploitation and should have the opportunity to grow, develop and fulfill their potential. Child
labour makes this impossible for children. Perception about facets of child labour in India, and
elsewhere, are strongly conditioned by our knowledge of economic history, socio-cultural view of
child welfare, respect, or lack of it, for functioning of the market system and attitudes towards
duties of the Sovereign with respect to its citizens and to the international community. The
spectrum of views generated by such a complex intellectual prism would naturally be rather large.
The Indian scene has been rendered more complex due to lack of factual knowledge on regional,
gender and rural dimensions of its incidence. The EU is committed to eradicating child labour at
a global level. This is reflected in the Commission's Communication "A Special Place for Children in
the EU External Action"1 and in the EU Action Plan on Children's Rights in External Relations. Both were
welcomed by the Council on 27 May 2008.2 The last available comprehensive ILO data on child labour
indicate that 218 million children (2004) are engaged in child labour globally; 126 million among them in
hazardous work.3 The number of child labourers has fallen by eleven per cent globally from 2000 to 2004.4

COM (2008) 55 final, and the Communication Implementing the Partnership for Growth and Jobs: Making Europe a Pole of
Excellence on Corporate Social Responsibility, 22 March 2006.
2

SEC(2008)136
International Labour Office. The end of child labour: Within reach. Global Report under the Follow-up to the ILO
Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work 2006.
4
The end of child labour: within reach, International Labour Conference, 95 th session, 2006, Report I(B). The IPEC (IPEC action
against child labour, op. cit., pp. 51-55). The next ILO Global Estimates of child labour will be released in May 2010.
3

The National Sample Survey and the Census, two major official sources of data on child
employment, do not define child labour. The figures for child labour are derived from using
age-wise distribution of workers. Workers are defined as those who engage in economic
activities; and economic activity is defined as any activity resulting in production of goods and
services that add value to national product. The major exclusions are own account processing of
primary products. Similarly, activities relating to the production of primary goods for own
consumption are restricted to only the agriculture sector and do not include mining and quarrying
activities. Further, activities like prostitution, begging, smuggling etc., which though fetched
earnings, are, by convention, not considered as economic activities

Chart 1
Child Labour in India (Age 5-14 years)

Source: Children in India 2012 - A Statistical Appraisal

Table -1
Work Participation of children
3

Source: Key indicators of Employment and unemployment in India, NSS July 2009- June 2010 , Employment and unemployment situation in India

As per the NFHS -3 (2005-06), nearly one in every eight (11.8%) children aged 5-14 years
works either for their own household or for somebody else. Among the children who work for
others, 2.2% children are engaged in paid work and 2.9% are engaged in unpaid work. 3.1%
children are engaged in household chores for 28 or more hours in a week, and 4.8% are engaged in
work in a family business. Since children are involved in multiple activities, the total work
participation rate of 12 percent is less than the sum of the percentages of children engaged in each
type of work.
Table -2
Progress in Education sector in India

Source: DISE, *IMRB (Indian Market Research Bureau) Survey

Table -2
4

Drop out rates in classes I-V, I-VIII and I-X All India

Source: Statistics of school Education 2009-10

According to above table primary education level is increase in last two decade and
government has started many education programmes, but drop out ratio is also more than 50%.

Constitutional provisions for children in India

Several provisions in the Constitution of India impose on the State the primary responsibility of
ensuring that all the needs of children are met and that their basic human rights are fully protected.
Children enjoy equal rights as adults as per Article 14 of the Constitution. Article 15(3) empowers
the State to make special provisions for children. Article 21 A of the Constitution of India directs
the State to provide free and compulsory education to all children within the ages of 6 and 14 in
such manner as the State may by law determine. Article 23 prohibits trafficking of Human beings
and forced labour. Article 24 on prohibition of the employment of children in factories etc,
explicitly prevents children below the age of 14 years from being employed to work in any factory,
mine or any other hazardous form of employment. Article 39(f) directs the State to ensure that
children are given equal opportunities and facilities to develop in a healthy manner and in
conditions of freedom and dignity and guaranteed protection of childhood and youth against moral
and material abandonment. Article 45 of the Constitution specifies that the State shall endeavour to
provide early childhood care and education for all children until they complete the age of 6 years.
Article 51A clause (k) lays down a duty that parents or guardians provide opportunities for
education to their child/ward between the age of 6 and 14 years. Article 243 G read with schedule11 provides for institutionalizing child care to raise the level of nutrition and the standard of living,
as well as to improve public health and monitor the development and well being of children in the
Country.
A fairly comprehensive legal regime exists in India to protect the rights of Children as
encompassed in the Countrys Constitution. The age at which a person ceases to be a child varies
5

under different laws in India. Under the Child Labour Prohibition and Regulation Act, 1986, a
child is a person who has not completed 14 years of age. Many Important Union laws
Guaranteeing Rights and Entitlement to Children are made are The Guardian and Wards Act, 1890,
The Reformatory Schools Act,1897, The prohibition of Child Marriage Act,2006, The Apprentices
Act, 1961, The Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act, 1956, The Womens and Childrens
Institutions (Licensing) Act, 1956, The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986, 14.
The Juvenile Justice ( Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000, repealed the Juvenile
Justice Act 1986. The 2000 act also has been amended in 2006 and 2010, The factories Act 1948,
The Commissions For Protection of Child Rights Act, 2005.
Various Schemes / Programmes are implemented by different Central Ministries, following
the guidance of the national policies. They are aiming to tackle the issues relating to the overall
welfare of children work independently as well as hand in hand. The State/ UT Governments also
execute numerous programmes from time to time for improving the lot of children are Integrated
Child Development Service Scheme, Integrated Child Protection Scheme, National awards for
child Welfare, National Child Awards for Exceptional Achievements, Rajiv Gandhi Manav Seva
Awards for Service to Children, Balika Samriddhi Yojna, Nutrition Programme For Adolescent
Girls, Early Childhood education for 3-6 age group children, Welfare of working children in need
of Care and Protection, Childline services, Rajiv Gandhi National Creche Scheme for children of
working mothers, UJJAWALA : A Comprehensive Scheme for Prevention of trafficking and
Resue, Rehabilitation and Re-integration of Victims of Trafficking and Commercial Sexual
Exploitation, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, National Rural Health Mission, Rajiv Gandhi Scheme for
empowerment of Adolescent Girls SABLA, DhanaLakshami Conditional Cash Transfer for
Girl Child with insurance cover, National Commission for Protection of Child Rights.
Conclusion
The programme and policy initiatives like Sarva Shikha Abhiyan (SSA) and Right to Education
(RTE) have contributed to a new vibrancy, meaning and urgency in the countrys efforts to
universalize elementary education, and are expected to infuse new life in the schooling system in
the years to come. However, the issue of drop outs continues as a major issue in all levels of
education. Also the Net enrolment Ratio in upper primary level is far from satisfactory. Urgent and

more focused measures are required to address and tackle these enduring issues in the education
sector of the Country.

References:
1. Children in India 2012, - A Statistical Appraisal, Published Social Statistics Division
Central Statistics Office,Ministry of statistics and Programme Implementation Government
of India
2. COM (2008), 55 final, and the Communication Implementing the Partnership for Growth
and Jobs: Making Europe a Pole of Excellence on Corporate Social Responsibility, 22
March 2006..
3. DISE, *IMRB (Indian Market Research Bureau) Survey
4. International Labour Office. The end of child labour: Within reach. Global Report under
the Follow-up to the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work 2006.
5. International Labour Conference, 95th session, 2006, Report I(B). The IPEC (IPEC action
against child labour, op. cit., pp. 51-55). The next ILO Global Estimates of child labour,
2010.
6. Ibid
7. ILO (1996a), Lists of Ratifications by Convention and by country, Report 3 (Part 5),
ILO, Geneva.
8. Key indicators of Employment and unemployment in India, NSS July 2009- June 2010 ,
Employment and unemployment situation in India
9. Hasnaim Ali, Member and Mr. Samsuddin Khan, (2012), The Overcoming of Child
Labour in India: In perspective of Constitutional and legislative Framework, Journal of
Business Management & Social Sciences Research (JBM&SSR) ISSN No: 2319-5614
Volume 1, No.3, December 2012

10. Patrick M. Emerson, Andr Portela Souza, (2007), Is Child Labor Harmful? The Impact
of Working Earlier in Life on Adult Earnings, IZA Discussion Paper
11. Statistics of school Education 2009-10
12. SEC(2008), SEC(2010) 37 final, commission staff working document Combating child
labour