13/10/2019
Educational effects of child labour.
Educational effects of child labour Rank Sometimes Almost always Total
- I do not go to school at all so that I can work 2nd 00 (00) 19% (342) 18% (342)
- I miss class for work 5th 8% (144) 5% (90) 13% (234)
- I do not have time to do my home studies 3rd 10% (180) 6% (108) 16% (288)
- My parents(s)/guardian ask me to drop out of school for work 6th 8% (144) 4% (72) 12% (216)
- I work in the morning and attend afternoon school 4th 9% (162) 6% (108) 15% (270)
- I attend school in the morning and work after school 1st 11% (198) 13% (234) 24% (432)
there are more female child labourers than males. This may be as a result of the fact that in Nigeria, male children attend school and are more preferred than female children who are easily given out for house helps and hawking business. The data also indicated that child labour activities increase as the age of the children increases.
children engage in child labour due to the following reasons – poverty, broken family, cultural belief of children being sent by God to help in the family, family size and lack of schooling Poverty being a major factor in child labour, supports the findings by UNICEF that poverty is the major cause of child labour in Nigeria.
identified hawking, begging, working in agricultural sites, carrying of loads and domestic services as dimensions of child labour as stated by the researcher.
the health effects of child labour on the child labourers. The findings revealed that 11% of the children (198) studied had traffic accidents in one way or the other. Studies by University of IOWA is in line with the findings in this work that child workers experience high rate of motor accident [8]. The data also indicated high level of injuries among child workers, as revealed by a vast body of other research studies such as UIOWA International Labour Organization , Child Labour – Atom (2011).
World Health Organization WHO (2002) that show high rate of injuries among child workers. Such injuries may develop to infertility and cancer later in life. This study revealed that 12% (216) of the respondents suffered one kind of injury or another. 4% (72) of the child workers had fever and headache after hawking. Child Labour - Atom also reported that one out of our child labourers suffer illnesses. Research also indicated that child labourers experience body pains after work. ILO , World Health Organization [39], also support this findings.
The findings showed that 3% representing 54 respondents experienced itching at the private part due to working in filthy environment. 2% (36) child labourers have had an experience of r**e which can result to HIV/Aid and any other sexually transmitted infections, pains emotional trauma. 5% (90) complained of having had pneumonia. Beggars as a matter of fact are usually exposed to bad weather and are never protected from it. From such environment they catch cough and develop pneumonia. International Labour Organization investigation on the worst form of child labour revealed that labourers easily develop cough and catch pneumonia. It has also been revealed through these research findings that 180 child labourers (10%) had craw-craw. The findings also indicated that pains are a common health problem among child workers more especially those who lift and or carry loads that are more than the estimated load weight for children. As a matter of fact, 2% (36) complained of waist pain, 5% (90) experienced muscle pains. 3% (54) of the respondents stated that they suffer from spinal injuries. 72 (4%) complained of snake and insect bites as they work in agricultural farms. 36 (2%) of the children have had burns while 18 (1%) had experienced electric shock. These respondents who work as house helps engage in cooking and cleaning without due experience on how to do the job. 6% (108) according to the findings have had difficulty in breathing due to their contact with chemicals and other hazardous environment, while on 18 (1%) have had chemical poisoning. A 6 year study by PCC according to Woolf et al. revealed that 538 child labourers were suffered from toxic exposure from pains, solvents, glues, caustics and other chemicals. 10% (180) experience constant hunger.
Educationally every child labourer has one academic problem of or another ranging from children who attend school in the morning and switch over to business of working immediately they come back from school, to those who do not attend school at all. This is very serious and disheartening.
UNICEF has been fighting for children’s education all over the world including Nigeria. Studies by UNICEF Nigeria indicate that child labour is a serious threat to children’s education.
International Labour Organization ILO has also been creating awareness for the elimination of child labour and upholding education through many programmes, seminars, convention etc. IPEC-ILO after investigations, concluded that education is a crucial weapon against child labour, and that child labour has robbed children of their education.
In the 2015 Report: Child Labour and education: progress, challenges and future directions, Global Partnership for Education’s findings revealed that:
i. Child labour lowers not primary school enrolment ratio.
ii. That child labour affects school attendance.
iii. That children who combine work and education do not perform well in the class.
Other information revealed through direct interview indicated that 60% of the children (1,080) do not eat before setting out for work. 2% (36) of the child workers complain of having experienced a chase or having harassed by unknown persons during hawking or begging. Up to 10% (180) hawkers reported that sometimes they are not given accurate balance of money from their customers who use the children’s lack of education to dupe them of their money, while some are not paid after sales by their customers who intimidate them with threats. 6% (108) of children reported of not being paid by their employers after the day’s labour.
