Reality of Child Labour in India?

Ground Report | New Delhi: Reality of child Labour; The reality of child labour in India; Did you know that India is one of the highest concentrations of child labours in the world. When it comes to the reality of child labour in India, there’s a sharp contrast between what the laws of the land are and what the ground reality is. The facts below are the current situation in our country.

Explained: Reality of child Labour

Rule: Children below 14 years should not be employed, except in certain family-run, home-based occupations.

Reality: 10.3 million child labours aged between 5 and 14 years labour every day in India.

Rule: Education has been made compulsory for children between ages 6 and 14.

Reality: Among children between 6 and 14 years of age, less than half go to school. Among working teenagers, 56% stopped studying altogether.

Rule: The total duration of work for a child should not be more than 6 hours on any day.

Reality: Child labourers are often made to work for 14-16 hours in the confusing sector, in agriculture, and in some industries.

Rule: Child labour laws set down that employing child labourers is a punishable crime.

Reality: Between 2015 and 2018, out of the 10,826 cases of violation of the act, only 25% progressed to the stage of judgment.

What causes child labour?

Poverty: For the poor and needy, child education is beyond their means while on the contrary, It brings extra income, causing parents to often choose the latter.

Lack of access to education: Through education of priority for the country, thousands of villages in India still have no proper schools or educational facilities.

Disease or disability: If the breadwinner in the family has a disease or disability, the burden of supporting the household falls on the child’s shoulders.

Cheap labour: Children are employed by many businesses because they generally need to be paid just half the wage of an adult (or even less) and are easy to manage.

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How does is affect the nation?

Children engaged in child labour are cheated off of a happy childhood as well as the fun, learning experiences in their years. A majority of leave behind the path of education is compromised on becoming a literate individual.

Leaving school behind, they become fully absorbed in the practice, so much so that they are unable to develop new skills. This way, India is losing out on an educated and skilled workforce that is required to our country’s economic growth and progress to greater heights.

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How you can help stop child labour?

It’s true that the power and responsibility of preventing child labour rest on the shoulders of the government and law enforcement agencies. However, as citizens, each of us can act in our society of child labour. Some of these steps are:

• Do not employ children to do odd jobs like washing your car or running even though it helps them earn some money – it’s against child labour laws.
• Start demanding to sellers that their products are free of child labour.
• Talk to parents and try convincing them to send their children to school, not to work.
• Join with organisations that are actively working to tackle the issue. Extend any assistance you can, including volunteering in your free time to financial support.

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