by F A Shompa

Friday, July 30, 2004

RONNY, 10, is a loader at the Kamalpur railway station in Dhaka. The station has several child loaders, called ‘minti' in Bangladesh, who compete with adults in carrying backbreakingly heavy luggage for train passengers. Children forced to carry heavy loads suffer from constant backaches and fatigue. The heavy loads also stunt their growth.Most of these child loaders have no links with their homes any more. They sleep on the platform and survive on the food sold on the streets. Many are harassed by the police and bullied by adult loaders. “There are days when we earn a daily average of takas 20,” says Ronny. “And there are also days when we don't anything at all. The adults snatch work from us.”

Bashir, a teenaged boy, works as a minti. Not so long ago, Bashir was studying in class six. One day his father, the only breadwinner of the family, died. Bashir had no option but to start working. “I hate to live on the income of my small child,” cries Bashir's mother, Amenga Begum. “But what else can I do?”

Mohammad Asgar Ali, Director of Bangladesh Shishu Adhikar Forum, an NGO says: “There are many poor children who work as loaders in Dhaka. They are forced to work at the age of 12 or even younger. The fact that they work at this young age is a violation of their rights.” A 2003-2004 official survey says that out of 40 million children (under 16) in the country, nearly 7 million are workers. Although Bangladesh accounts for less than 2 per cent of the world population, it is home to 5 per cent of the world's working child population. A large number of these children work in hazardous industries.

In the mid-1990s, following the US ban on import of products from industries using child labour, garment employers in the country dismissed thousands of children from their factories. But the children were again trapped, this time even more hazardous and exploitative activities like stone crushing, steel hustling and bidi-making.

While working in hazardous industries, the children are exposed to strong chemicals and a variety of toxic substances. In most cases, they are neither aware of the dangers nor have any knowledge of the precautions to be taken at work. Long-term exposure leads to diseases like asthma, lung cancer and skin infections.

Poverty continues to be the largest cause of child labour. Says Mr Sharfuddin Khan, who works with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) in Dhaka, “We have a dual attitude towards poor children. Even those who oppose child labour would not mind employing them because they are available for low wages.” Many children work for 48 hours a week and earn less than taka 500 per month. —WFS

New Delhi | July 29, 2004 6:16:55 PM IST

The Centre is ignoring the plight of hundreds of thousands of children living with HIV/ AIDS, and turning a blind eye to widespread discrimination against them, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Wednesday (July 28).

That is undermining efforts to combat AIDS in India-where more han five million people are thought to be living with HIV/AIDS -nd putting millions more lives at risk, the New York-based organisation said in a report.Children living with or infected with HIV are being thrown out of schools, denied medical cares and in some cases rejected by their families or sent away for orphanages. Because they or their families are living with HIV. Unfotunately children have hardly come on the radar screen of Indian government's AIDS policy," said Zama Coursen-Neff, senior researcher and author of the HRW report.

"What we are hoping is that the Indian government will begin to take into account what's happening to children. That they find out, the Indian government will try to find out true number of children living with or or otherwise affected with HIV and begin to address what is happening for children," she added.

The report said that it was "nearly invisible" in the government's response to the epidemic. It added that many doctors refuse to treat or even touch HIV-positive children. Some schools expel or even segregate children because they or their parents are HIV-positive.

The report has documented cases such as 10-year-old Sharmila, who was HIV-positive and had lost both her parents to AIDS. When she developed tuberculosis (TB), Sharmila began travelling four to five hours in Tamil Nadu to reach a government-run hospital for free medical care, but it did not provide anti-retroviral drugs. She died in January.

In another case, Anu (6) was sent home from kindergarten in Maharashtra after her parents died of AIDS and teachers suspected she also had the illness. A private doctor told her family not to bring her to his clinic "because if you do, other people won't come".

HRW said many orphanages rejected HIV-positive children. Children from families afflicted with AIDS are often denied education, pushed onto the street or forced into child labour, putting them at a greater risk of contracting HIV themselves.

Coursen-Neff said the Indian government needs to take steps to prevent discrimination against the infected children. "India needs to urgently protect the children and all people that are with HIV, facing discrimination. Ensure that all people in India and especially children have the information that they need to protect themselves from HIV and to prevent discrimination," she added.She further claimed that many teachers, doctors, government officials and ordinary people in India still don't know the basic facts about HIV transmission and AIDS. (ANI)

Vanguard (Lagos)
OPINION
July 28, 2004
Posted to the web July 29, 2004

By Emmanuel Edukugho

In recognition of the fact that there are barriers in the way of achieving education-for-all the world gathered in Jomtien, Thailand in 1990 at a conference whose aim was to devise strategies for solving the conundrum. Thus, resolutions of that summit became known as the Jomtien World Declaration on Education For All in 1990. From a global perspective, the following facts come to light:

(i) Of the over 800 million children under six years of age, less than a third benefit from any form of early childhood education

(ii) Some 113 million children, 60% of whom are girls, have no access to primary schooling.

(iii) At least 880 million adults are illiterate majority of them women. These figures amount not only a patent denial of the right to education, but also stand as obstacles to poverty elimination and sustainable development.

Primary school enrolments worldwide increased by some 82 million pupils since 1990, with 44 million more girls in school in 1998 than in 1990. At the end of the 1990s, developing countries had achieved net enrolment rates in excess of 80%. Drop out and repetition rates had declined.

For Nigeria specifically, the fortunes of basic education had been fluctuating in the last twenty years, when the Universal Primary Education (UPE) scheme was launched in 1976.

Even before the advent of free education initiative by the Action Group government of old Western Region of Nigeria headed by the legendary Chief Obafemi Awolowo in 1955, children in this country have always worked in farming, fishing, trading, cattle herding, fetching water, househelps, and various kinds of craft work in which their parents are skilled.

Participation of children in these works are regarded as "responsibility training" - a critical aspect of socialization through which important values were imbibed. These children worked in safety without relative hazards, most times combining it with schooling.

Today however, instead of child work, we have child labour which interfers with schooling. The International Labour Organisation (ILO) refers to child labour as the engagement of children below 15 years in work or employment on a regular basis with the aim of earning a livelihood for themselves or their families.

Statistical Information and Monitoring Programme on Child Labour Survey (SIMPOC) disclosed that there are 15 million (15,027,612) working children in Nigeria consisting of 7,812,756 males and 7,214,856 females of whom at least 7 million (7,265,503) are in child labour either because they are exposed to 15 or more hours of work daily or because they were found not to be attending school.

They consisted 3,677879 (50.6%) girls and 3,587,624 (49.4%) boys.

Of these, 987,155 (13.6%) had dropped out of school for various reasons.

Out of the over 2 million children (2,356,369) who are exposed to very long hours of work (15 hours or more), 1,333,605 (56.6%) were attending school, whereas 1,021,764 (43.4%) were not attending school.

At independence in 1960, the number of primary schools rose from 15,703, with an enrollment of 2,912,618, to 36,683 primary schools with an enrollment of 13 million (13,760,030) in 1980/81.

Although, there is statistically an appreciable increase in both the number of educational institutions and in enrollment up to the 1980s, by 1990, there was swift decline.

The number of primary schools in 1989/1990 school year declined to 34,904, and enrollment fell to 12,721,087, in comparison to 36,683, and 13,760,030, respectively, for the 1980/81 session cited above.

While 1980s gross enrollment was placed at 50% of those of school age (i.e between ages of 6 and 23), this declined to 37% in 1990. Impact of the economic crisis and SAP (Structural Adjustment Programme) which imposed cuts in public sector spending including education was responsible.

Henceforth, as a result of the ensuing devastating economic crisis, which rubbed off on the education sector, there was gross and chronic under-funding. Public expenditure on education rapidly fell in real terms. A terribly high rate of inflation which made the national currency suffer heavy devaluation only ensured that less and less facilities and services were provided for the funds allocated.

And of course, corruption, graft, embezzlement, misappropriation and diversion of education funds by state officials spelt doom for the sector.

What therefore can be done to rescue basic education and banish illiteracy from the shores of Nigeria?

First, adequate funding is imperative multi-sectorally from within and outside. Government should strive to allocate 26% of its entire budget to education, with at least 50% of this, going to basic education.

Bilateral and multilateral donors, World Bank, African Development Bank and Foundations are essentially required.

Second, strengthening institutions like UBE, National Commission for Nomadic Education, National Mass Literacy Commission, State Primary Education Boards, to enable them deliver effectively primary education to the nation.

Third, adequate instructional materials be supplied regularly by the government, especially science and laboratory equipment, chemicals, reagents, chalks, notebooks, text books, pen, pencils, statistical/informative charts, maps, blackboards, and above all, well-stocked libraries.

Fourth, enhanced teaching personnel, properly trained, motivated with good salaries and conditions of service, with prompt payment of salaries and other emoluments.

Fifth, renovation of dilapidated school infrastructure particularly classrooms and building of new blocks of class rooms and offices.

Sixth, close monitoring of fund utilisation, implementation of projects, supervision, to curb high profile corruption and misappropriation of education money.

Seventh, incorporation of PTAs, civil society organisations, and massive mobilisation and engagement of all relevant stakeholders in realisation of education for all.

Eight, revision and innovation of basic education curriculum to make for more functionality and skill acquisition.

About one and half decade after the historic World Declaration on Education for All in Jomtien, (1990) supported by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the convention on the rights of the child, that all children, young people and adults have the human right to benefit from an education that will meet their basic learning needs in the best and fullest sense of the term, significant progress cannot be made because there is no strong political commitment by most governments.

The international agreement on the 2015 target date for achieving education for all in all countries required commitment and political will from all levels of government. Many governments do not give education sufficient resources in their national budgets.

Nigeria spends less than 10% of her national budget on education. The Federal Government is now desperately trying to pass the cost burden of education on to poor parents.

All young people and adults should be given the opportunity to gain the knowledge and develop values, attitudes and skills to enable them develop their capacities to work, participate fully in nation building and take control of their own destiny.

Any country genuinely in quest of socio-economic, scientific, technological development must have a significant proportion of its work force completing basic education, particularly at secondary level.

For drop-outs and those unable to acquire the literacy, numeracy and life skills they need, a range of options for continuing their education must be provided. Every government has the responsibility to provide free, qualitative basic education, ensuring that no child is denied access because of inability to pay fees.

The Nigerian government is yet to come to grips in defining the meaning, purpose and content of basic education, assessing learning outcomes and achievement.

Education for all is an inclusive concept, encompassing not only primary education, but also early childhood education, literacy, and life skills acquisition. It must take into cognizance, the needs of the poor and disadvantaged, including working children, remote rural dwellers and nomads, ethnic and linguistic minorities, children, young people and adults affected by conflict, HIV/AIDS, hunger, deprivation, sickness/poor health and the disabled physically.

Nigeria illustrates this spectacle with incessant ethno-religious crisis, ethnic violence, ravaging some parts of the north (Plateau State where state of emergency has been declared) and the Niger Delta region which produces the oil mineral wealth of the nation. Education has a unique role to play in preventing conflict in the future and fostering lasting peace, stability and development.

Proper intervention from the government to eliminate inequities in areas such as health and education is required to end child labour, writes Syed Ishtiaque Reza

7/28/2004

THE World Day Against Child Labour, observed on June 12, went nearly unnoticed as millions of children around the world continued to live and work in hazardous conditions. They are in dire poverty, with no access to education and health services. The limitations of just a few national and international agencies -- trying to raise public awareness about child labour -- is clear from its widespread

Globalisation, coupled with the flooding of cheap imported industrial goods, has resulted in the destruction of many local industries destroying sources of the livelihood of a vast section of the populace, especially of women and children. The withdrawal of the state from social sectors, coupled with the privatisation of resources and the lack of employment opportunities, has aggravated the situation. With rising job insecurity, children and women are also supplementing the family income by working in industries.

The children are usually employed in low-skill, low-wage jobs with long working hours. Many of them work in hazardous occupations as bonded labour and are frequently abused by their employers. Poorer sections of the population can neither afford school expenses nor find them useful, especially when the family is living at the level of hardcore poverty.

Sometimes children from poor families are enrolled in schools only to avail themselves of food for education schemes. But only a few of them finally continue.

The policies of structural adjustment, liberalisation and globalisation have resulted in the increase in the number of the jobless during the 1990s. The agricultural growth has been very modest. But the industrial arena except the RMG sector has been showing dismal performance. Only the service sector and the unorganised manufacturing sector have grown steadily. But they were not able to offset the decline in employment levels in the farm sector and the formal industrial sector. There has also been pressure on the government, particularly since the 1990s, to cut the expenditure on public sector enterprises including the social and the welfare sectors.

There are six million 10 to 14-year-old children working in Bangladesh. According to the ministry of labour, "children are found working in garments, bakeries and confectioneries, hotels and restaurants, transport, bidi (cigarette) factories, small engineering workshops, fish-processing, and other informal and unregulated sectors." There are also allegations of children catching and processing shrimp in Chittagong for export.

Bangladesh has some 25 special laws and ordinances to protect and improve the status of children. Under the existing law, the minimum age for employment may be variously interpreted as anywhere between 12 and 16. In 1993, the Government of Bangladesh created a National Labour Law Commission to revise and harmonise labour laws. The first draft of the recommendations, completed on March 31, 1994, proposes to eliminate the inconsistencies regarding the minimum age for employment by defining a child as "a person who has not completed his fourteenth year of age. The draft further provides that "no child labour that age shall be employed or permitted to work in any occupation or establishment."

The government agency responsible for enforcing child labour laws, the Bangladesh Department of Labour and Inspectorate of Factories, lacks sufficient resources, staff and logistical support to adequately perform the task of monitoring child labour laws. An official of the Department of Labour said that they have only 32 inspectors around the country to monitor the overall labour rights situation.

Primary education is free and compulsory. The implementation of compulsory education is failing to meet target in part because parents keep their children out of schools. That is because they find the school accessories too expensive or that they prefer their children to work for money or help with household chores.

The most remarkable work has so far been done by the BGMEA in eliminating child labour in 1994. In addition to setting up of medical centres for garment workers, the BGMEA also arranged informal education and professional training. It has set up seven clinics/hospitals and seven training centres/schools in Dhaka and Chittagong. But child labour is still largely persisting in other sectors mentioned above. The situation is also serious in the informal sectors. It seems paradoxical as the child labour is persisting at a time when the unemployment levels for adult workers are increasing.

The phenomenon of child labour can be eradicated by the spread of universal primary education. The dropout rate from schools, however, is correlated with the incidence of child labour. The need to send children to school would depend normally on the expectations of the parents from the labour market.

The ill effects of the work that child workers perform results in poor health, malnourishment, lack of sleep and other disorders. These children carry such ailments into their adult life, thus forming a part of the sick and under-productive labour force.

Wednesday, July 28, 2004

By Khalid Hasan

WASHINGTON: India's “explosive” AIDS epidemic is being fuelled by widespread abuses against children who are affected by HIV/AIDS, Human Rights Watch said in a new report.

The Indian government's failure to address these abuses is undermining its anti-AIDS policy and putting millions of lives at risk, the group added.

“Children are being turned away from schools, clinics and orphanages because they or their family members are HIV-positive,” according to Zama Coursen-Neff, senior researcher with Human Rights Watch's Children's Rights Division and author of the report. “If the Indian government is serious about fighting the country's AIDS epidemic, it should stop ignoring children affected by AIDS and start protecting them from abuse.”

Abuses Against Children Affected by HIV/AIDS in India,' states that many doctors refuse to treat or even touch HIV-positive children. Some schools expel or segregate children because they or their parents are HIV-positive. Many orphanages and other residential institutions reject HIV-positive children or deny that they house them. Children from families affected by AIDS may be denied an education, pushed onto the street, forced into the worst forms of child labour, or otherwise exploited, all of which puts them at greater risk of contracting HIV.

Official statistics show that hundreds of thousands of Indian children are living with HIV/AIDS. Children of parents with HIV/AIDS suffer in turn: many are forced to withdraw from school to care for sick parents, or forced to work to replace their parents' income. If they are orphaned they have no one to look after them. Some experts say more than one million children under the age of 15 have lost one or both parents to HIV/AIDS. The Indian government estimates that 5.1 million people are living with HIV/AIDS in India.

The report says street children, child sex workers and children of sex workers, children from lower castes and Dalits suffer even more as they also face other forms of discrimination. Sexual abuse and violence against women, coupled with their” long-standing subordination in Indian society,” make them especially vulnerable to HIV transmission.

Girls are also more likely to be pulled out of school to care for a sick family member or to take over domestic work. When living with HIV/AIDS, they may be the last in the family to receive medical care.

Many children are not getting the information about HIV they need to protect themselves or to combat discrimination. Fewer than half of all secondary schools offer any AIDS education. Others do so at an age when most children, especially girls, have already dropped out. The government is “utterly failing” to provide information to millions of India's children who are not in school but on the streets, at work, in institutions, in non-formal schools and at home.

“Children need accurate information to protect themselves from HIV/AIDS,” says the report's athor.

“But the most vulnerable children are those who've dropped out of school, and they're the ones who are least likely to get lifesaving information about HIV prevention.” Misinformation and fear also cause some families to reject children who are HIV-positive or who are perceived to be. Although some state governments, like that of Tamil Nadu, have begun programmes to educate the public, most have not.

The report calls on the Indian government to enact and enforce legislation proscribing discrimination against people living with HIV/AIDS, take steps so that children living with HIV/AIDS receive all available medical care, including anti-retroviral treatment, ease school fees and related costs that keep children, especially girls, from going to school as those who go to school are generally less vulnerable to the epidemic and, finally to provide care and protection to children whose parents are unable to care for them because of HIV/AIDS.