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Country information 
In India, many different ethnic groups, religions and circumstances create a colourful melting pot of cultures.
India is home to most of the world’s child labourers. In fact in every industry and walk of life you are bound to find a child labourer.
MV Foundation, a successful NGO in India which saved thousands of children from child labour into the class room, was one of the delegates who tour Africa in October.
Check the Africa Tour reporters' weblog!
Introduction
During the Stop Child Labour tour in Africa a delegation of three representatives from Southern partner organizations will visit the concerned countries to engage in field visits, exchange meetings and workshops with local NGOs and trade unions, government bodies and international organizations involved in children's rights programmes. The tour delegation will consist of representatives from MVF (India), Asaaman (Nepal) and SNE (Morocco).
Background
MV Foundation (MVF) has been working on the issue of abolition of child labour over the past decade. The organization now reaches out to over 6000 villages. In 1991, they started working in 3 villages and 30 bonded child labourers were withdrawn from work. Recognizing that the only way to keep these children out of work was to admit them into formal schools, MVF approached the local schools and sought admission for these children. Since all these children had never been to school before and also since most of them were over 10 years old the schools were not in a position to accept these children. Basically there was no policy in place enabling older working children to access schools. MVF had to prepare children through residential bridge course programs and help these children join classes corresponding to their age. In this period the bridge course also served the purpose of keeping the children away from the pressures from employers threatening them to either rejoin work or repay the loans. The bridge course camps have since continued in the last decade. They now serve the role of training, advocacy and mobilization centers.
MVF has learnt through its experience that addressing the issue of children in bonded labour alone had certain inherent problems. Since there was a general acceptance of the fact that children may continue to work and remain out of schools, it did not prevent other children from replacing those who have been withdrawn from bondage. Furthermore, targeting bonded labour only left out a large number of girl children who were involved in domestic work, working as agricultural labourers and helping their own families.
In order to prevent children from joining the labour force and also to reach out to girls, MVF looked at the issue of abolition of child labour as an issue of children’s right to education. Consequently, MVF evolved multiple strategies to withdraw children from work and to retain them in schools. In the process it involved the active participation of different sections of the community and also institutions such as School Education Committees (SECs) and local bodies (Gram Panchayat). It also started setting up of local institutions such as the Child Rights Protection Forums (CRPF) with all those in a village that would vouch for children and take a public stand on their behalf.
Non-negotiable principles
MVF successfully continues to work on the elimination of child labour and education for all, holding on to the following non-negotiable principles:
Components of planning for elimination of child labour
MVF evolved the following as the basic components of its planning for elimination of child labour based on its experiences:
MVF works towards building a social norm where every person/institution expresses shock at the fact that the child is not attending schools and is engaged in work. The MVF prepares the community and the society at large in support of the child’s right to education and to encourage the government to increase their commitment to education and respond to their demand for schools. Thus the parents, employers, local officials and non-officials, opinion makers and youth have a role to play in bringing children to schools. In addition the local institutions such as the Child Rights Protection Forums (CRPF) and School Education Committees (SEC) and local bodies such as the Gram Panchayats have an important role in the programme.
The programme therefore builds the capacities of both the social forces and the government into accepting the responsibility of ensuring that every child in the 5-14 years age group is in school.
Access to School and Changes in Policy Framework
Once withdrawn from work, enrolling children into schools is not an easy task. In the process of accessing schools the gaps in the system become more and more evident. This results in the local institutions demanding changes to be sensitive to the first generation learners, older children who were withdrawn from work and school dropouts who rejoined schools after a long period of absence. The school governance procedures have to be modified to suit the dynamics of a large number of children from diverse backgrounds crowding the schools.
Inevitably the debates and the discussions and consequent public action are directed towards the State government and its perspectives on children’s access to education. This results in bringing about policy changes by the government of Andhra Pradesh, the most fundamental of it being in recognizing the inextricable link between total abolition of child labour and education for all children through full time formal day schools.
Because of the MVF’s influence, the government of Andhra Pradesh consider all out of school children as child labourers. At the same time its policy is to ensure that children reached up to tenth grade.
Achievements
Through its tireless work and dedication MVF has been able to yield some extraordinary results:
In India, many different ethnic groups, religions and circumstances create a colourful melting pot of cultures. India is home to most of the world’s child labourers. In fact in every industry and walk of life you are bound to find a child labourer.
MV Foundation, a successful NGO in India which saved thousands of children from child labour into the class room, was one of the delegates who tour Africa in October.
Check the Africa Tour reporters' weblog!
(Source: CIA World Factbook)
Natural resources:
Coal (fourth-largest reserves in the world), iron ore, manganese, mica, bauxite, titanium ore, chromate, natural gas, diamonds, petroleum, limestone, arable land
Geography :
Dominates South Asian subcontinent; near important Indian Ocean trade routes; Kanchenjunga, third tallest mountain in the world, lies on the border with Nepal
Population:
1,147,995,898 (July 2008 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 31.5% (male 189,238,487/female 172,168,306)
15-64 years: 63.3% (male 374,157,581/female 352,868,003)
65 years and over: 5.2% (male 28,285,796/female 31,277,725) (2008 est.)
Median age:
Total: 25.1 years
male: 24.7 years
female: 25.5 years (2008 est.)
Languages:
English enjoys associate status but is the most important language for national, political, and commercial communication; Hindi is the national language and primary tongue of 41% of the people; there are 14 other official languages: Bengali, Telugu, Marathi, Tamil, Urdu, Gujarati, Malayalam, Kannada, Oriya, Punjabi, Assamese, Kashmiri, Sindhi, and Sanskrit; Hindustani is a popular variant of Hindi/Urdu spoken widely throughout northern India but is not an official language. (2001 census)
Literacy:
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 61%
male: 73.4%
female: 47.8% (2001 census)
GDP - per capita (PPP):
$2,700 (2007 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
Agriculture: 17.6%
industry: 29.4%
services: 52.9% (2007 est.)
Labour force:
516.4 million (2007 est.)
Labour force - by occupation:
Agriculture: 60%
industry: 12%
services: 28% (2003)
Unemployment rate:
7.2% (2007 est.)
Population below poverty line:
25% (2007 est.)
Child labour:
Total: 14%
Male: 14%
Female: 15%
(1999-2004, source: UNICEF 2006)
Ratified Conventions ILO:
138 on Minimum Working Age not ratified
182 on Worst Forms of Child Labour not ratified
(Source: ILO 2008)
Primary school enrolment:
Male: 90%
Female: 85%
(2000-2004, source: UNICEF 2006)
Secondary school enrolment:
Male: 54%
Female: 54%
(2000-2004, source: UNICEF 2006)
Education expenditures - percent of GDP:
3.2% (2005)
Agriculture - products:
Rice, wheat, oilseed, cotton, jute, tea, sugarcane, potatoes; cattle, water buffalo, sheep, goats, poultry; fish
Industries:
Textiles, chemicals, food processing, steel, transportation equipment, cement, mining, petroleum, machinery, software
| Country name: | Republic of India |
| Government type: | federal republic |
| Chief of state: | President Pratibha PATIL (since 25 July 2007); Vice President Hamid ANSARI (since 11 August 2007) |
| Government: | Prime Minister Manmohan SINGH (since 22 May 2004) Cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister |
| Capital: | New Delhi |
| Currency (code): | Indian rupee (INR) |
Natural resources:
Coal (fourth-largest reserves in the world), iron ore, manganese, mica, bauxite, titanium ore, chromate, natural gas, diamonds, petroleum, limestone, arable land
Geography :
Dominates South Asian subcontinent; near important Indian Ocean trade routes; Kanchenjunga, third tallest mountain in the world, lies on the border with Nepal
Population:
1,147,995,898 (July 2008 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 31.5% (male 189,238,487/female 172,168,306)
15-64 years: 63.3% (male 374,157,581/female 352,868,003)
65 years and over: 5.2% (male 28,285,796/female 31,277,725) (2008 est.)
Median age:
Total: 25.1 years
male: 24.7 years
female: 25.5 years (2008 est.)
Languages:
English enjoys associate status but is the most important language for national, political, and commercial communication; Hindi is the national language and primary tongue of 41% of the people; there are 14 other official languages: Bengali, Telugu, Marathi, Tamil, Urdu, Gujarati, Malayalam, Kannada, Oriya, Punjabi, Assamese, Kashmiri, Sindhi, and Sanskrit; Hindustani is a popular variant of Hindi/Urdu spoken widely throughout northern India but is not an official language. (2001 census)
Literacy:
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 61%
male: 73.4%
female: 47.8% (2001 census)
GDP - per capita (PPP):
$2,700 (2007 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
Agriculture: 17.6%
industry: 29.4%
services: 52.9% (2007 est.)
Labour force:
516.4 million (2007 est.)
Labour force - by occupation:
Agriculture: 60%
industry: 12%
services: 28% (2003)
Unemployment rate:
7.2% (2007 est.)
Population below poverty line:
25% (2007 est.)
Child labour:
Total: 14%
Male: 14%
Female: 15%
(1999-2004, source: UNICEF 2006)
Ratified Conventions ILO:
138 on Minimum Working Age not ratified
182 on Worst Forms of Child Labour not ratified
(Source: ILO 2008)
Primary school enrolment:
Male: 90%
Female: 85%
(2000-2004, source: UNICEF 2006)
Secondary school enrolment:
Male: 54%
Female: 54%
(2000-2004, source: UNICEF 2006)
Education expenditures - percent of GDP:
3.2% (2005)
Agriculture - products:
Rice, wheat, oilseed, cotton, jute, tea, sugarcane, potatoes; cattle, water buffalo, sheep, goats, poultry; fish
Industries:
Textiles, chemicals, food processing, steel, transportation equipment, cement, mining, petroleum, machinery, software
History of tribes and dynasties
Aryan tribes from the northwest infiltrated onto the Indian subcontinent in about 1500 B.C.; their merger with the earlier Dravidian inhabitants created the classical Indian culture. The Maurya Empire of the 4th and 3rd centuries B.C. - which reached its zenith under ASHOKA - united much of South Asia.
The Golden Age ushered in by the Gupta dynasty (4th to 6th centuries A.D.) saw a flowering of Indian science, art, and culture. Arab incursions starting in the 8th century and Turkic in the 12th were followed by those of European traders, beginning in the late 15th century.
Colonial rule
By the 19th century, Britain had assumed political control of virtually all Indian lands. Indian armed forces in the British army played a vital role in both World Wars.
Independence
Non-violent resistance to British colonialism led by Mohandas GANDHI and Jawaharlal NEHRU brought independence in 1947. The subcontinent was divided into the secular state of India and the smaller Muslim state of Pakistan. A third war between the two countries in 1971 resulted in East Pakistan becoming the separate nation of Bangladesh.
India-Pakistan
India's nuclear weapons testing in 1998 caused Pakistan to conduct its own tests that same year. The dispute between the countries over the state of Kashmir is ongoing, but discussions and confidence-building measures have led to decreased tensions since 2002.
Despite impressive gains in economic investment and output, India faces pressing problems such as significant overpopulation, environmental degradation, extensive poverty, and ethnic and religious strife.
Aryan tribes from the northwest infiltrated onto the Indian subcontinent in about 1500 B.C.; their merger with the earlier Dravidian inhabitants created the classical Indian culture. The Maurya Empire of the 4th and 3rd centuries B.C. - which reached its zenith under ASHOKA - united much of South Asia.
The Golden Age ushered in by the Gupta dynasty (4th to 6th centuries A.D.) saw a flowering of Indian science, art, and culture. Arab incursions starting in the 8th century and Turkic in the 12th were followed by those of European traders, beginning in the late 15th century.
Colonial rule
By the 19th century, Britain had assumed political control of virtually all Indian lands. Indian armed forces in the British army played a vital role in both World Wars.
Independence
Non-violent resistance to British colonialism led by Mohandas GANDHI and Jawaharlal NEHRU brought independence in 1947. The subcontinent was divided into the secular state of India and the smaller Muslim state of Pakistan. A third war between the two countries in 1971 resulted in East Pakistan becoming the separate nation of Bangladesh.
India-Pakistan
India's nuclear weapons testing in 1998 caused Pakistan to conduct its own tests that same year. The dispute between the countries over the state of Kashmir is ongoing, but discussions and confidence-building measures have led to decreased tensions since 2002.
Despite impressive gains in economic investment and output, India faces pressing problems such as significant overpopulation, environmental degradation, extensive poverty, and ethnic and religious strife.
Diverse economy
India's diverse economy encompasses traditional village farming, modern agriculture, handicrafts, a wide range of modern industries, and a multitude of services. Services are the major source of economic growth, accounting for more than half of India's output with less than one third of its labour force. About three-fifths of the work force is in agriculture, leading the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government to articulate an economic reform program that includes developing basic infrastructure to improve the lives of the rural poor and boost economic performance.
Foreign trade and investment
The government has reduced controls on foreign trade and investment. Higher limits on foreign direct investment were permitted in a few key sectors, such as telecommunications. However, tariff spikes in sensitive categories, including agriculture, and incremental progress on economic reforms still hinder foreign access to India's vast and growing market.
Privatisation
Privatization of government-owned industries remains stalled and continues to generate political debate; populist pressure from within the UPA government and from its Left Front allies continues to restrain needed initiatives.
Figures
The economy has posted an average growth rate of more than 7% in the decade since 1997, reducing poverty by about 10 percentage points. India achieved 8.5% GDP growth in 2006, and again in 2007, significantly expanding production of manufactures.
Software services
India is capitalizing on its large numbers of well-educated people skilled in the English language to become a major exporter of software services and software workers. The huge and growing population is the fundamental social, economic, and environmental problem.
India's diverse economy encompasses traditional village farming, modern agriculture, handicrafts, a wide range of modern industries, and a multitude of services. Services are the major source of economic growth, accounting for more than half of India's output with less than one third of its labour force. About three-fifths of the work force is in agriculture, leading the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government to articulate an economic reform program that includes developing basic infrastructure to improve the lives of the rural poor and boost economic performance.
Foreign trade and investment
The government has reduced controls on foreign trade and investment. Higher limits on foreign direct investment were permitted in a few key sectors, such as telecommunications. However, tariff spikes in sensitive categories, including agriculture, and incremental progress on economic reforms still hinder foreign access to India's vast and growing market.
Privatisation
Privatization of government-owned industries remains stalled and continues to generate political debate; populist pressure from within the UPA government and from its Left Front allies continues to restrain needed initiatives.
Figures
The economy has posted an average growth rate of more than 7% in the decade since 1997, reducing poverty by about 10 percentage points. India achieved 8.5% GDP growth in 2006, and again in 2007, significantly expanding production of manufactures.
Software services
India is capitalizing on its large numbers of well-educated people skilled in the English language to become a major exporter of software services and software workers. The huge and growing population is the fundamental social, economic, and environmental problem.
Current situation: India is a source, destination, and transit country for men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of forced labour and commercial sexual exploitation. Internal forced labour may constitute India's largest trafficking problem; men, women, and children are held in debt bondage and face forced labour working in brick kilns, rice mills, agriculture, and embroidery factories.
Women and girls are trafficked within the country for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation and forced marriage.
Children are subjected to forced labour as factory workers, domestic servants, beggars, and agriculture workers, as well as armed combatants by some terrorist and insurgent groups.
India is also a destination for women and girls from Nepal and Bangladesh trafficked for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation. Indian women are trafficked to the Middle East for commercial sexual exploitation. Men and women from Bangladesh and Nepal are trafficked through India for forced labour and commercial sexual exploitation in the Middle East.
Tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List - India is on the Tier 2 Watch List for a fifth consecutive year for its failure to provide evidence of increasing efforts to combat human trafficking in 2007. Despite the reported extent of the trafficking crisis in India, government authorities have made little effort to prosecute traffickers and protect trafficking victims.
Government authorities continued to rescue victims of commercial sexual exploitation and forced child labour and child armed combatants, and began to show progress in law enforcement against these forms of trafficking. A critical challenge overall is the lack of punishment for traffickers, effectively resulting in impunity for acts of human trafficking. India has not ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol (2008)
Women and girls are trafficked within the country for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation and forced marriage.
Children are subjected to forced labour as factory workers, domestic servants, beggars, and agriculture workers, as well as armed combatants by some terrorist and insurgent groups.
India is also a destination for women and girls from Nepal and Bangladesh trafficked for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation. Indian women are trafficked to the Middle East for commercial sexual exploitation. Men and women from Bangladesh and Nepal are trafficked through India for forced labour and commercial sexual exploitation in the Middle East.
Tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List - India is on the Tier 2 Watch List for a fifth consecutive year for its failure to provide evidence of increasing efforts to combat human trafficking in 2007. Despite the reported extent of the trafficking crisis in India, government authorities have made little effort to prosecute traffickers and protect trafficking victims.
Government authorities continued to rescue victims of commercial sexual exploitation and forced child labour and child armed combatants, and began to show progress in law enforcement against these forms of trafficking. A critical challenge overall is the lack of punishment for traffickers, effectively resulting in impunity for acts of human trafficking. India has not ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol (2008)
(Source: MV Foundation, India)
Most child labourers
India is home to most of the world’s child labourers. Children work with their parents as agricultural labourers, or as domestic servants, in hand-knotted carpet industry, in gem-stone polishing, brass work, footwear, textiles, silk and fireworks. In fact in every industry and walk of life you are bound to find a child labourer.
Street children
There are many street children, most of whom live in abject poverty. They often suffer mental and sexual abuse and run a high risk of HIV & Aids infection, as do the many child prostitutes. Trafficking in children for the purpose of forced prostitution is a widespread problem.
Bonded labour
Bonded labour is prohibited but in the carpet industry alone human rights organisations estimate that hundreds of thousands of children work in conditions that amount to bonded labour (HRW: 15 million).
Child labour is also rampant in the cotton industry. Seasonal migration is increasingly emerging as the chief mode of labour engagement across the country. Many seasonal migrant tribal workers work on cottonseed farms during the rainy season for two to three months and there are many child labourers amongst them. The estimated share of child labour is about one-third of the total labour force and the total number of child labour, depending upon the total size of the labour force, could be in the range of 60,000 to 100,000. The working conditions are very bad. Children have to stay on the farms where abuses & sickness are common place. Living conditions are mostly terrible with no running water, toilets or cooking facilities. There are cases of sexual harassment as well sexual assault. Unfortunately, child labour on the cotton fields is a legal activity as agricultural work is not prohibited under the Child Labour Act. (Source: Dakshini Rajasthan Mazdoor Union, 2008 http://www.indianet.nl/pdf/drmureport.pdf)
India voted for the adoption of ILO Conventions 138 on the Minimum Working Age and 182 on the Worst Forms of Child Labour but has not yet ratified either Convention. Nor has the Republic introduced legislation in support of eliminating child labour in its entirety.
The prevalence of child labour may be partly attributed to the social acceptance of the practice but the primary blame rests with failure of state and federal governments to implement coherent policies and provide universal primary school education.
Most child labourers
India is home to most of the world’s child labourers. Children work with their parents as agricultural labourers, or as domestic servants, in hand-knotted carpet industry, in gem-stone polishing, brass work, footwear, textiles, silk and fireworks. In fact in every industry and walk of life you are bound to find a child labourer.
Street children
There are many street children, most of whom live in abject poverty. They often suffer mental and sexual abuse and run a high risk of HIV & Aids infection, as do the many child prostitutes. Trafficking in children for the purpose of forced prostitution is a widespread problem.
Bonded labour
Bonded labour is prohibited but in the carpet industry alone human rights organisations estimate that hundreds of thousands of children work in conditions that amount to bonded labour (HRW: 15 million).
Child labour is also rampant in the cotton industry. Seasonal migration is increasingly emerging as the chief mode of labour engagement across the country. Many seasonal migrant tribal workers work on cottonseed farms during the rainy season for two to three months and there are many child labourers amongst them. The estimated share of child labour is about one-third of the total labour force and the total number of child labour, depending upon the total size of the labour force, could be in the range of 60,000 to 100,000. The working conditions are very bad. Children have to stay on the farms where abuses & sickness are common place. Living conditions are mostly terrible with no running water, toilets or cooking facilities. There are cases of sexual harassment as well sexual assault. Unfortunately, child labour on the cotton fields is a legal activity as agricultural work is not prohibited under the Child Labour Act. (Source: Dakshini Rajasthan Mazdoor Union, 2008 http://www.indianet.nl/pdf/drmureport.pdf)
India voted for the adoption of ILO Conventions 138 on the Minimum Working Age and 182 on the Worst Forms of Child Labour but has not yet ratified either Convention. Nor has the Republic introduced legislation in support of eliminating child labour in its entirety.
The prevalence of child labour may be partly attributed to the social acceptance of the practice but the primary blame rests with failure of state and federal governments to implement coherent policies and provide universal primary school education.
Over half the children of school going age are not at school and receive no formal education. Primary school education is not free, compulsory or universal. Of 203 million children entitled to a basic education in 2002-2003, only 120 million were at school. Cultural practices have a profound discriminatory impact. Girl children are more often deprived their right to education. Moreover, India hosts hundreds of thousands of displaced persons and refugees. They live in poor conditions and their children receive little or no schooling. Working children in general are in a high risk situation when it comes to education. The educational level of child labourers is very low. They are either illiterates or have a below primary education. The working children are the ones who either have never gone to school or who have dropped out of school early never to go again. For children, seasonal migration for work means a lifetime missed education opportunities and a guarantee that the cycle of poverty continues for their families. They are condemned to low-paid unskilled work for their entire lives and become carriers of inter-generational poverty.
(Source: Dakshini Rajasthan Mazdoor Union, 2008 http://www.indianet.nl/pdf/drmureport.pdf)
(Source: Dakshini Rajasthan Mazdoor Union, 2008 http://www.indianet.nl/pdf/drmureport.pdf)
Introduction
During the Stop Child Labour tour in Africa a delegation of three representatives from Southern partner organizations will visit the concerned countries to engage in field visits, exchange meetings and workshops with local NGOs and trade unions, government bodies and international organizations involved in children's rights programmes. The tour delegation will consist of representatives from MVF (India), Asaaman (Nepal) and SNE (Morocco).
Background
MV Foundation (MVF) has been working on the issue of abolition of child labour over the past decade. The organization now reaches out to over 6000 villages. In 1991, they started working in 3 villages and 30 bonded child labourers were withdrawn from work. Recognizing that the only way to keep these children out of work was to admit them into formal schools, MVF approached the local schools and sought admission for these children. Since all these children had never been to school before and also since most of them were over 10 years old the schools were not in a position to accept these children. Basically there was no policy in place enabling older working children to access schools. MVF had to prepare children through residential bridge course programs and help these children join classes corresponding to their age. In this period the bridge course also served the purpose of keeping the children away from the pressures from employers threatening them to either rejoin work or repay the loans. The bridge course camps have since continued in the last decade. They now serve the role of training, advocacy and mobilization centers.
MVF has learnt through its experience that addressing the issue of children in bonded labour alone had certain inherent problems. Since there was a general acceptance of the fact that children may continue to work and remain out of schools, it did not prevent other children from replacing those who have been withdrawn from bondage. Furthermore, targeting bonded labour only left out a large number of girl children who were involved in domestic work, working as agricultural labourers and helping their own families.
In order to prevent children from joining the labour force and also to reach out to girls, MVF looked at the issue of abolition of child labour as an issue of children’s right to education. Consequently, MVF evolved multiple strategies to withdraw children from work and to retain them in schools. In the process it involved the active participation of different sections of the community and also institutions such as School Education Committees (SECs) and local bodies (Gram Panchayat). It also started setting up of local institutions such as the Child Rights Protection Forums (CRPF) with all those in a village that would vouch for children and take a public stand on their behalf.
Non-negotiable principles
MVF successfully continues to work on the elimination of child labour and education for all, holding on to the following non-negotiable principles:
- All Children must attend full-time formal-day schools;
- Any child out of school is a child labourer;
- All labour is hazardous and harms the overall growth and development of the child;
- There must be total abolition of child labour;
- Any justification perpetuating the existence of child labour must be condemned.
Components of planning for elimination of child labour
MVF evolved the following as the basic components of its planning for elimination of child labour based on its experiences:
- The entire universe of children (both in schools and out of schools) in the 5-14 years age group in a given area is considered while planning for abolition of child labour and not exclusively those children employed in certain hazardous industries alone. In fact , all child labour is considered hazardous to children’s health. It works with a conviction that it is possible to abolish child labour and must be done at any cost. Child labour is not inevitable and karma that children must endure.
- It recognizes that each child requires a specific plan based on the child’s age, gender, what the child is doing, whether working for the family or an employer, or is a migrant labour or a tribal child, urban or rural and so on and builds community support to encourage them to join schools.
- It considers that there is no guarantee that children who are already in schools continue to do so without any disruption to their attendance in schools. The survival of the first generation learners in the school is precarious and therefore attention has to be paid to retention of children in schools.
- It does not set up parallel institutions and structures but works with the existing schools as it considers that children have a right to education and the State has a duty to protect children’s rights. It therefore constantly engages with the government to improve the education system on a local, state and national level.
- Recognizing that there is an explosive demand for education and poor parents want to send their children to schools, it does not provide for any income generating schemes and livelihood programmes as incentives to the parents. Instead, it focuses on building a social norm in an area that would give confidence to the poor to send their children to schools.
MVF works towards building a social norm where every person/institution expresses shock at the fact that the child is not attending schools and is engaged in work. The MVF prepares the community and the society at large in support of the child’s right to education and to encourage the government to increase their commitment to education and respond to their demand for schools. Thus the parents, employers, local officials and non-officials, opinion makers and youth have a role to play in bringing children to schools. In addition the local institutions such as the Child Rights Protection Forums (CRPF) and School Education Committees (SEC) and local bodies such as the Gram Panchayats have an important role in the programme.
The programme therefore builds the capacities of both the social forces and the government into accepting the responsibility of ensuring that every child in the 5-14 years age group is in school.
Access to School and Changes in Policy Framework
Once withdrawn from work, enrolling children into schools is not an easy task. In the process of accessing schools the gaps in the system become more and more evident. This results in the local institutions demanding changes to be sensitive to the first generation learners, older children who were withdrawn from work and school dropouts who rejoined schools after a long period of absence. The school governance procedures have to be modified to suit the dynamics of a large number of children from diverse backgrounds crowding the schools.
Inevitably the debates and the discussions and consequent public action are directed towards the State government and its perspectives on children’s access to education. This results in bringing about policy changes by the government of Andhra Pradesh, the most fundamental of it being in recognizing the inextricable link between total abolition of child labour and education for all children through full time formal day schools.
Because of the MVF’s influence, the government of Andhra Pradesh consider all out of school children as child labourers. At the same time its policy is to ensure that children reached up to tenth grade.
Achievements
Through its tireless work and dedication MVF has been able to yield some extraordinary results:
- Over 400,000 children are now in schools;
- The programme is being implemented in more than 6,000 villages, covering 137 mandals in 11 districts of Andhra Pradesh;
- 45,000 child labourers have been put through Bridge Course Camps and 30,000 Education Activists mobilized to liberate children;
- 45,000 child labourers have been put through Bridge Course Camps and 30,000 Education Activists mobilized to liberate children;
- 3,000 School Education Committees and active Gram Panchayats back up campaigns against child labour;
- 1,000 villages in the Ranga Reddy district of Andhra Pradesh have become free from child labour.
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