World Day Against Child Labour: Pandemic dropouts make child labour elimination a pipe dream
During and after the Covid-19 pandemic, many children had to leave school and take up jobs to support their families. Most of them never returned
On that particular afternoon, the Garage Potti alley in Dakshin Kamalapur, which houses a series of automotive workshops on both sides, felt like a heat chamber.
The tin-shed workshops were crammed with under-repair cars, and more vehicles were parked outside. Child labourers Shakil, Mehedi, Arif and some others, were assisting their supervisors (automotive mechanics) standing under the scorching sun, as there was not enough space for everyone to fit under the sheds.
Many schools were closed during the recent heatwave, allowing children to stay indoors. But these children at Garage Potti, all school dropouts, had no such luck; they have to work and provide for their families.
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During and after the Covid-19 pandemic, the rate of school dropouts and child labourers rose proportionately in Bangladesh and many of these children never returned to school.
Bangladesh Bureau of Educational Information and Statistics' data shows the dropout rate in primary education was 14.15% in 2021, while the secondary schools and madrassas lost 35.66% of their students, possibly because of the pandemic.
The Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education estimated that the same year, among the secondary level students who dropped out, more than 78,000 became child labourers.
Twelve-year-old Shakil Hasan was cleaning a car engine's flywheel. Sweat glistened on his innocent face. He seldom spoke to his co-workers, following only his supervisor's instructions.
During the lockdown, Shakil's father Liaqat - an informal cleaner at a bank - lost his job temporarily. Shakil was a fifth-grader at Maniknagar-based Dhaka Ispahani School. The youngest among Liakat's four children, Shakil stopped his studies right after.
"I wish I could resume my studies but it's not possible now. My father got back his job, but none of us [the siblings] could return to school," said Shakil. He couldn't explain how his meagre financial contribution was important for his family members.
How much does Shakil earn a month, working 10 hours a day, six days a week? "My monthly salary is Tk1,000 [$9]. I get evening snacks everyday," he said.
Like Shakil, 11-year old Mehedi Hasan also works at an automotive workshop. His job is listed as 'extremely hazardous' in the Hazardous Child Labour list compiled by the government.
Mehedi really wanted to study, so, when the fifth-grader was forced to leave Kamalapur Sher-e-Bangla School during the Covid-19 pandemic, he convinced his rickshaw-puller father Aminur to enroll him at a nearby free madrassa to continue his education. But Mehedi managed to stay at the madrassa for only a few months.
"I had to work to support my family and so that my younger brother could study at that madrassa," said the young boy.
Mehedi, who hardly earns Tk2,000 a month, went back to repairing a car dent. In that hot and humid atmosphere, his small, malnourished body was covered in a cheap polyester jersey and torn denim trousers.
Not all the child labourers get paid. Ariful Islam, 13, a dropout of Kabir Hossain Model School in Jamalpur district, has been working as an apprentice for the last five months. Previously, he worked at a roadside food shop.
"As I am still learning engine repair, the workshop owner pays me Tk30 as transport allowance. He promised me a fixed monthly salary if I am able to repair an engine," Arif said.
Dhaka Ahsania Mission's 'Child Labour: Action-Research-Innovation in South and South-Eastern Asia (CLARISSA) Project' Advocacy and Communications Expert Azmi Akter shared her experience working with pandemic-time dropouts who later became involved in income generating activities.
"We have seen working children face considerable pressure to contribute to their family's income by engaging in income-generating activities. This sort of pressure makes it difficult for them to prioritise their return to school, despite having full intention to return to education," Azmi told TBS.
Following several revisions, the government has now set the year 2025 to completely free Bangladesh from child labour. This is also included in the Sustainable Development Goal and a prerequisite to gain access to the European Union's GSP plus facilities.
The government has prepared a National Plan of Action to Eliminate Child Labour (2021-2025) to check the persistent forces behind child labour. Wide access to free education, employment opportunities for marginalised parents, health and nutrition services, and law enforcement action against hazardous child labour have been promised in the plan.
Given the increasing rate of child labour, particularly in the informal sector, whether the national plan can be effectively implemented remains in the air.
Moreover, the plan is based on the National Child Labour Survey 2013 that estimated 1.7 million children were involved in income-generating activities, which, in the post-Covid period, is presumably much higher. So, what lies ahead for children like Shakib and Mehedi?
"We have a dearth of credible data. Because of data deficiency, elimination of child labour within a specific timeframe has become a big problem," said educationist Rasheda K Chowdhury, also the executive director at Campaign for Popular Education.
Conversations on 'eliminating child labour in all its forms by 2025' usually focuses on addressing child labour in the formal sector. However, millions of children are actually employed by small businesses, mostly in the informal, unregulated sector.
"The ambitious National Plan of Action to Eliminate Child Labour (2020-2025) in Bangladesh is commendable, but it needs to pay far greater attention to the thousands of small businesses which exist in the informal sector. The informal sector is rife with the most exploitative and dangerous forms of child labour," opined Azmi Akter.
To realise Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's promises (made on 16 February 2014 and 24 May 2015) to eliminate hazardous child labour, the Labour and Employment Ministry has been implementing the fourth-phase of Eliminiating Hazardous Child Labour from Bangladesh project worth Tk2,8449 lakh.
Project Director Monowar Hossain, also an additional secretary, informed TBS that one lakh children [previously involved in hazardous jobs] from 10 districts were provided with semi-formal education and vocational training. Ten percent of the beneficiaries were given a stipend so they did not have to go back to doing hazardous jobs.
"The ministry is also concerned about the new dropouts and their involvement in hazardous sectors. Plans are underway to address the newcomers' issue," Monowar said.
