Saving The Childhood ...

With the supreme court of India banning child labour ,it has been decreasing at a mere 2.2% per year over the last decade. But has not totally been eradicated from the Indian society . Today, over a crore children continue to be a part of the country’s workforce. Every 11th child between the age group of 5 to 18is working in India . 11 states recorded an increase in the number of working children over the decade. The major states among them are Kerala (74%), Uttarakhand (17%), Himachal Pradesh (17%) and Uttar Pradesh (13%).But if it continues at this pace, it would take more than a century to get the existing working children out of labour.

The main factor for high rate of child labour in India include the poverty and illiteracy of a child’s parents, the family’s social and economic circumstances, a lack of awareness about the harmful effects of child labour, lack of access to basic and meaningful quality education and skills training. Poverty and a lack of livelihood options lead to a child’s “need” to contribute to the family income.

The net of child protection and safety needs to be tightened considerably to address the grave issue of child labour .

Combatting child labour requires long term co-ordinated action which involves many stakeholders and the government. This includes educational institutions, mass media, NGOs and community-based organizations as well as trade unions and employers. It is important that the attitudes and mindsets of people are changed to instead employ adults and allow all children to go to school and have the chance to learn, play and socialize as they should. Education is a key to preventing child labour and has been one of the most successful methods to reduce child workers in India. This includes expanding education access to schooling, improving the quality and relevance of education, addressing violence in schools, providing relevant vocational training and using existing systems to ensure child workers return to school.

A child should never loose his or her childhood.Let's come together to builda better and safe today for our "Future" .