CHANAKYA NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY

FINAL DRAFTT SUBMITTED FOR THE FULFILLMENT IN LABOUR LAWS

ON

“THE IMPACT OF EDUCATION ON PREVENTING CHILD LABOUR IN INDIA”

SUBMITTED TO:

Dr. Shakil Ahmad

(Faculty of Sociology of Law)

SUBMITTED BY:

Shruti
Roll No. 2361
BA LLB (Hons.), 4th Semester
 DECLARATION BY THE CANDIDATE
I, Hereby, declare that the work reported in the L.L.B(Hons.) Project report entitled,
“THE IMPACT OF EDUCATION ON PREVENTING CHILD LABOUR IN INDIA”
Submitted at CHANAKYA NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY, PATNA is an authentic
record of my work carried out under the supervision of Dr. Shakil Ahmad, Faculty of
sociology of Law. I have not submitted this work elsewhere for any other degree or diploma.
I am fully responsible for the contents of my project report.

(Signature of the candidate)

Shruti
ROLL NUMBER – 2361
B.A LL. B, 2nd year
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I have taken effort in this project. However, it would not have been possible without the
support and help of many individuals. I would like to extend, sincere thanks to all of them. I
am highly indebted to Dr. Shakil Ahmad for his guidance and constant supervision as well as
for providing necessary information regarding the project & also for his support in
completing the project. I would like to express my gratitude towards my parents, my friends
and all those unseen hands that have helped me out at every stage of my project.

THANKING YOU:

Shruti

Roll no - 2361

Semester- 4th, 2nd year CNLU, Patna

INTRODUCTION
Education's impact on preventing child labour is a very subjective topic, especially while
education is still a privilege, if not a luxury, for many people. There is no denying that education
is essential for a country's comprehensive development. To conclude the impact of education
on child labour, we must first understand the country's history of child labour and how to
address this unethical practice. India's average literacy rate is 77.70 per cent, according to data
from the National Statistical Office (NSO). To fully realise why child labour come into
existence in the first place, we must first comprehend the integration of modern societal
developments and why it is still a major concern. Child labour is one of the numerous social
issues that might arise as a result of a lack of education. We've gone over all of the primary
reasons for developing an educational-based development and how it affects society. The rate
of child labourers also varies by gender, according to the research. Male kid labourers have a
greater rate than female child labourers. Such methods as child labour are seen as a worthwhile
investment by the market that operates them. Child labour and sex trafficking are both
associated with the same societal stigma: the lack of education and social awareness. This
makes the Indian subcontinent one of the poorest countries in the world; women and children,
the weakest members of Indian society, suffer most. The root cause of child labour is extreme
poverty, and the main reason for poverty are unemployment, a lack of resources for the
upliftment of the social order, which includes hierarchy, caste system, and untouchability,
marginal differences between deserving and non-deserving classes, and government policies
that fail to address these issues. In economics, humans are viewed as a resource, but child
labour is detrimental to the economy. The factors that nourish the population as a resource are
critical to adding up for a situation to be considered a success. Individual development
(personal), career development (professional), and organizational development are the three
main components of human resource development (HRD). And none of these is possible
without a good education. The possibility of these essential human resource advancements is
jeopardized by child labour. As a result, the nation must seek to provide education to all people,
regardless of their social backgrounds, to address issues like child labour. This paper aims to
provide an analytical perspective on the causes of child labour and how education is a necessary
component of the process of attaining the objective. The researcher has discussed the Right to
Education Act of 2009, as well as other government-enacted legislation aimed at ensuring that
everyone has access to education, as well as the procedures for dealing with this atrocious
crime. The method for ending an unethical activity differs from country to country, as it is also
dependent on the stage of development for a large group of people. In this work, the researcher
has focused her research on India and its approach to eradicating child labour, in a modular
way.
 CONSTITUTIONAL SAFEGUARDS
• The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act or Right to Education Act
(RTE), is an Act of the Parliament of India enacted on 4 August 2009, which describes the
modalities of the importance of free and compulsory education for children between 6 and 14
in India under Article 21A of the Indian Constitution. India became one of 135 countries to
make education a fundamental right of every child when the Act came into force on 1 April
2010. The Act makes education a fundamental right of every child between the ages of 6 and
14 and specifies minimum norms in elementary schools. It requires all private schools to
reserve 25% of seats for children (to be reimbursed by the state as part of the public-private
partnership plan). Kids are admitted into private schools based on economic status or caste-
based reservations. It also prohibits all unrecognized schools from practise and makes
provisions for no donation or capitation fees and no interview of the child or parent for
admission. The Act also provides that no child shall be held back, expelled, or required to pass
a board examination until the completion of elementary education. There is also a provision
for special training of school dropouts to bring them up to par with students of the same age.

• The Right to Education of persons with disabilities until 18 years of age is laid down under
separate legislation - the Persons with Disabilities Act. A number of other provisions regarding
improvement of school infrastructure, teacher-student ratio and faculty are made in the Act.

Education in the Indian constitution is a concurrent issue and both centres and states can
legislate on the issue. The Act lays down specific responsibilities for the Centre, state, and local
bodies for its implementation. The states have been clamouring that they lack the financial
capacity to deliver the education of appropriate standard in all the schools needed for universal
education. Thus, it was clear that the central government (which collects most of the revenue)
will be required to subsidize the states. Constitutional Provisions for Child Upliftment:

• Article 24: Prohibition of employment of children in factories, etc. No child below the age
of fourteen years shall be employed in work in any factory or mine or engaged in any other
hazardous employment.
• Article 39: The State shall, in particular, direct its policy towards securing (e) that the health
and strength of workers, men and women, and the tender age of children are not abused and
that citizens are not forced by economic necessity to enter avocations unsuited to their age or
strength.
• Article 15(3) in The Constitution of India 1949 (3) Nothing in this article shall prevent the
State from making any special provision for women and children • Child Labour (Prohibition
and Regulation) Act, 1986: It prohibits the employment of children in certain hazardous
occupations and regulates the conditions of work of children in certain other employments
where they are not prohibited from working. It prescribes a procedure to decide modifications
to schedule to banned occupations or processes. It also brings about uniformity in the definition
of "child" in related laws.
• The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2016 suffers from
several flaws.

Since independence, India has enacted a number of legislations concerning child labour.
Children under the age of 14 are not allowed to work in factories, mines, or other hazardous
jobs, according to Article 24 of the Constitution. Articles 21A and 45 promise that all children
aged 6 to 14 would receive a free and obligatory education. The Right of Children to Free and
Compulsory Education Act was passed in India in 2009. (RTE). However, the new law's
modifications make implementing the RTE nearly hard. Its provisions impose such a financial
strain on low-caste households that, rather than supporting education, the Act actually increases
the likelihood of dropouts. And parents, fearful of the hefty fines that may be imposed if their
children are employed, are more likely to create a situation where parents are prepared to lie
about their child's attendance. The law requires a firm approach to execution; forcing a majority
of people to comply without first explaining the importance of the law and its necessity might
backfire in a variety of ways, making it much more difficult to combat the issue.

• Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Rules, 2017.

Makes a number of amendments to the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986
(61 of 1986), including through the amendment of the title to Child and Adolescent Labour
(Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986 (61 of 1986). Deals with, inter alia, responsibilities of
Central Government concerning the prohibition of child labour (section 2A) regulating
circumstances when a child can help his family without affecting their education (section 2B)
and children who work as artists (section 2C).4 The two ILO Conventions on child labour are
Convention No.138 on Minimum Age and Convention No. 182 on the Worst Forms of Child
Labour. These Conventions are “fundamental” Conventions. This means that, under the ILO
Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, all ILO member States have an
obligation to respect, promote and realize the abolition of child labour, even if they have not
ratified the Conventions in question.
There are numerous more legislative provisions prohibiting and regulating child labour, as
well as national policies, and governments around the world have been attempting to eliminate
child labour. UNICEF provides humanitarian and developmental aid to children all around the
world, attributable to ILO conventions and collaboration with countries all over the world as
well. It's almost as if all of the countries are fighting the same war but from different
perspectives.
According to the graph above, the number of child labourers in Asia is the second highest,
which may seem alarming, but if we look closely at the graph, we can see that the numbers are
lower in Western and Arab countries than in Asia and Africa. Child labour has been used for
millennia all around the world, but some governments deal with it more consciously than
others. Apparently, the government is not solely to blame for all of the advancements; a country
also requires the assistance of ordinary citizens, who must be informed of all areas of human
resource development. People should understand the importance of education and how it is the
only approach to personal and national development. Other countries should learn how they
are dealing with this problem, with a special emphasis on the fact that these are countries with
the highest literacy rates and the highest percentage of people with good educational
qualifications, allowing for open minds and a strong understanding of human rights. The
Universal Declaration of Human Rights makes clear that every child has the right to free basic
education so that poverty and lack of money should not be a barrier to schooling. In many
developing countries, over the last several, decades, governments have announced the abolition
of school fees and as a result, they have seen impressive increases in the number of children.
 IMPORTANCE OF EDUCATION
Joyce Irvine vs. the federal government Joyce Irvine is the principal at an elementary school in
Vermont where 97 per cent of the students live in poverty. Many of them are refugees from
other countries. Ms Irvine was removed because the Burlington School District wanted to
qualify for up to $3 million in federal stimulus money for its dozen schools. And under the
Obama administration rules, for a district to qualify, schools with very low-test scores, like
Wheeler, must do one of the following: close down; be replaced by a charter (Vermont does
not have charters); remove the principal and half the staff; or remove the principal and
transform the school. And since Ms Irvine had already "worked tirelessly," as her evaluation
said, to "successfully" transform the school last fall to an arts magnet, even she understood her
removal was the least disruptive option.
As I quote “Joyce Irvine versus millions, “You can buy a lot of help for children with that
money.” That sentence has the potential to be as accurate as it is. Joyce Irvine's narrative is
quite depressing in terms of politics and administration. But it also serves as an inspiration to
emphasise the need for education, particularly for refugee children and the extremely poor, as
well as for children around the world. There are currently over 400,000 children in foster care
in the United States, according to data. They range in age from infancy to twenty-one years of
age. Foster care is for children and teens who have been mistreated, neglected, or abandoned
by their parents or guardians. What a powerful strategy to cope with the country's future
development. We recognise that as a society, we must improve our methods for dealing with
the development of our future generations, particularly children, who are the country's future.
Several aspects of development are going well, and we should be proud of that, but there are a
few that require a little more attention than others. We should also work on all aspects of the
development for holistic development. Child labour and abuse, as well as rising statistics over
time, do not reflect well on our society. India is proud of everything from its history to its
culture. And as American author and pastor, Rick Warren said: “We are products of the past,
but we don’t have to be prisoners of it.
” We may be proud of our history, but we must also strive to make our future success. Education
is a lifelong process. It begins the day we are born and ends the day we die. It is found in every
society and comes in many forms, ranging from the “school of hard knocks,” or learning by
experience, to formal institutional learning—from post-industrial to nonindustrial
communities, from rural to urban settings, and from youth to older learners.

Education is important in the creation of any democratic society. As Franklin D. Roosevelt

says, “Democracy cannot succeed unless those who express their choice are prepared to choose
wisely. The real safeguard of democracy, therefore, is education.” People need a good
education if they want a good democracy.

• Education has the power to help societies, and the world in general, change for the better.
According to Nelson Mandela, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to
change the world”. Malcolm X says: "Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow
belongs to those who prepare for it today.” Education is a powerful tool that can be used to
make the world a better place to live in.

• Education reduces violence and crime in societies. Teaching people to read has been shown
to prevent people from engaging in crime. In fact, the Melissa Institute for Violence Prevention
and Treatment is a charity group that uses education to combat violence and crime.
• Education creates hope for the future. Giving people hope that they can improve their lot in
life is one of the more powerful effects education has on society. John F. Kennedy best
expressed the power of a good education when he said: "Let us think of education as the means
of developing our greatest abilities, because in each of us there is a private hope and dream
which, fulfilled, can be translated into benefit for everyone and greater strength for our nation.”
JFK’s words about America apply to every society on Earth. Asia that it will take a major
infusion of resources and political leadership to catch up. Deep class/caste divisions have been
barriers to the development of a national drive for mass education by those who have made it
to the upper strata.

As the economy opens and employment opportunities grow with the expansion of the country's
consumer industries, the governing middle class may recognise that the country needs a more
literate population and therefore must invest in its children. But it will take a major coalition
of locally-based groups, the active participation of the media, the contribution of researchers
and the information they disseminate, the support of investors, educators, social activists trade
unions and international donor agencies to get India to address the way it treats the children of
the poor.9 Valuable research is being to accumulate in some of the more visible domains of
child labour, like street work and small workshops, but perhaps the highest priority should be
given to agriculture, which accounts for about 70% of all child labour worldwide. The broad
evidence suggests that children are steered into this work by family circumstances, not its
suitability for health and subsequent development.

Moreover, the literature, while sparse, does not at this time point to any particular health
advantage associated with unpaid agricultural work or agricultural work within the household.
It appears that the main risk factors for serious injury in developed countries, tractors, and
similar equipment, are not operative in most developing country contexts, but other risk factors,
such as work with large animals, are more likely to be shared. It is also possible that pesticide
exposure might be higher in the developing world, for which the long-term health outcomes
would be severe, albeit more resistant to measurement.

Education is a necessary element and one of the most important means of societal progress.
Based on their literacy rate, a country's development could either be appreciated or depreciated.
Civil unrest and other social evils result in a lack of education. Child labour is one of the
outcomes that calls into question our social behaviour about the country's future. The global
epidemic has had a disastrous effect on every element of society, including this one. Working
from home and taking online classes may appeal to a certain group of people. It's been a tragedy
for the remainder of the underprivileged. The situation worsened for those children who were
exposed to the virus, and the fight was aggravated for the comfort of the privileged. India, as a
varied country with numerous cultures, adheres to legal parameters that are also respectful of
other traditions. We can distinguish between right and wrong norms with the help of education.
Educational cultures should be considered the foundation of progress among various cultures.
The study goes through all of the other issues of child labour, as well as the role of education
in eradicating it. It is difficult to combat social taboos without educating the people of a country,
but it is even more difficult to combat social taboos with educated people who are not socially
aware.
 SUGGESTIONS & CONCLUSION
Poverty, child labour, and unemployment may be caused by a variety of factors. For all we
know, education is not just a solution, but it is also the most important element in the formula,
and without it, we cannot even begin to consider the success segment. Instead, we should take
a step forward and raise awareness of the importance of education. About how we are born
with equality, it is only through education that we learn the value of our own rights and have a
greater understanding of our duties and obligations. Millions of people who work as labourers
or who are forced to work do not realise, they have the same rights as their employers. There
is only one constitution that controls all citizens of the country. In the eyes of the law, no one
is exceptional. We may agree that there are various methods to get knowledge, but education
gives us more authority. And no country could be as successful as one in which the majority
of its citizens are empowered with self-development and self-awareness. We have not yet found
a perfect method to end child labour forever, because even though we have a solution in our
hands, it still exists. When the government implement a law for the poor, the people don't see
the connection, and they don't believe that the government understand what they're going
through and what are their struggles. As a result, if the government enacts a policy requiring
parents to send their children to school or face fines, parents will be forced to comply. They
believe they are governed by a powerful group with competing interests, so they often lie about
sending their children to school in many cases just to avoid the fine. We must foster mutual
understanding between the giver and the receiver, in which both sides are working toward the
same goal, as well as social development through education. Absolutely, education is the best
approach to deal with child labour. As a result, the government must educate children to avoid
child labour. Government should bring forward to help parents see the value of education in
their own distinct ways. Parents should understand that they are not obligated to teach their
children, but that they must do it for their own benefit. Education helps generations grow, and
while growth may not be as rapid as we would want, it is a continuing process and the most
reliable one. A law is only useful if it is carried out properly. We should increase the quality of
implementation rather than the way the government lays out all of the policies for people. After
each law is passed, the government should examine its execution and implementation to see
how far it has progressed. That is how we will be able to notice the truth of facts as well as the
proper solution to the situation.
 REFERENCES
1. SOS children villages Canada, A loving home for every child, poverty in India: facts
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survivalhttps://www.soschildrensvillages.ca/news/poverty-in-india-602
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3. The Hindu, column, a law that allows child labour, (Aug 10, 2016)
https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/columns/A-law-that-allows-child-
labour/article14560563.ece
4. An international labour organization, Database of national labour, social security and
related human rights legislation, India>
https://www.ilo.org/dyn/natlex/natlex4.detail?p_lang=en&p_isn=110006
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