Call to Invest ‘Serious Resources’ in Education, to Stem Tide of Child Labour

Significant investments from the international community will be needed to get free quality education for every child. Credit: Cecilia Russell/IPS By Cecilia RussellDurban, May 17 2022 (IPS) “Education is the most powerful weapon you can use to eliminate child labour.” So said Dennis Sinyolo, Director of Education International’s African Regional Office in Accra, Ghana adapting liberation icon and late South African president Nelson Mandela’s famous quote about how education can change the world. Sinyolo was participating in a themed discussion on education at the 5th Global Conference on the Elimination of Child Labour. The panellists agreed that the investment in teachers was also crucial to ending child labour. Sinyolo noted that teachers are the ones who identify those out of school, raise awareness about schooling and mobilise to get them into school. Cornelius Williams, Director Child Protection for UNICEF, noted that a worrying trend in increased child labour has developed in the two years since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. More than 1.5 million learners were affected by school closures. “This has been a huge setback against education and also a setback in child labour,” said Williams. He said that 16.8 m more children in the age group from 5 to 11 were working, which was expected to rise. One-third of these were out of school, and for every child out of school – another balances work and school. The role of teachers wa...
Source: IPS Inter Press Service - Health - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Tags: Africa Child Labour COVID-19 Development & Aid Education Featured Global Headlines Human Rights Humanitarian Emergencies TerraViva United Nations IPS UN Bureau IPS UN Bureau Report Source Type: news