VELAMMAL VIDYALAYA Velammal Avenue Mel Ayanambakkam Chennai - 600 095 ENGLISH PROJECT -N AMUDHANNAME: N AMUDHAN SCHOOL: VELAMMAL VIDYALAYA MEL AYANABAKKAM CLASS AND SEC: XII M REG NO: 20639437 YEAR: 2021-22 ENGLISH PORTFOLIO CHILD LABOURACKNOWLEDGMENT The project has been fulfilled in consultation with my teachers, experts and peers, with reference to print and visual media. This project aims at achieving a clear understanding of child labour, Which is prevailing in many parts of the world particularly in India and South East Asia. For doing this project I read and evaluated the lesson ‘Lost Spring’ and took out the theme of ‘Child Labut’ dealt in it. I referred a number of articles on child labour and child abuse from various leading newspapers like The Guardian, The Hindu, The Telegraph etc and visited websites of NGOs like * Save the Children’ to get a proper idea of the problem and how it is dealt by these organizations. Along with that I have acquired a good proficiency in general engilish speaking and writing. For the project I carried out several studies and readings from different sources and analysed the data regarding demographic trends in child labour and the distribution around the worldCERTIFICATE This project work titled ‘Child Labour’ is an insight into the present scenario of millions of children in the light of the lesson ‘Lost Spring’ by Anees Jung. A Critical study based. on A.L.S (Assignment of Listening and Speaking) project on “Child labour” has been has been carried out under the guidance and instructions of PGT English of Velammal Vidyalaya, Mel Ayanambakkam.OBJECTIVES A Project study based on the lesson Lost Spring by Anees Jung. The project looks into the theme of child labour that is dealt in the story Lost Spring and aims to create awareness about the problem of Child Labour which is quite prevalent in many parts of the world and in our country. We encounter the malady of child labour in every nook and corner of our country. From the streets and construction sites to the hazardous industries and restaurants. It is critical that we gain a proper understanding of this issue and fight this evil. Being citizens of the new world it is our responsibility that children who are citizens of tomorrow. They are exploited buy the malicious and greedy industrialists and child traffickers.Introduction : WHAT IS CHILD LABOUR? Child labour refers to the exploitation of children through any form of work that deprives children of their childhood, interferes with their ability to attend regular school, and is mentally, physically, socially and morally harmful. Such exploitation is prohibited by legislation worldwide, although these laws do not consider all work by children as child labour; exceptions include work by child artists, family duties, supervised training, and some forms of child work practiced by Amish children, as well as by indigenous children in the Americas. Child labour has existed to varying extents throughout history. During the 19th and early 20th centuries, many children aged 5-14 from poorer families worked in Western nations and their colonies alike. These children mainly worked in agriculture, home-based assembly operations, factories, mining, and services such as news boys — some worked night shifts lasting 12 hours. With the rise of household income, availability of schools and Passage of child labour laws, the incidence rates of child labour fell.Globally the incidence of child labour decreased from 25% to 10% between 1960 and 2003, according to the World Bank. Nevertheless, the total number of child labourers remains high, with UNICEF and ILO acknowledging an estimated 168 million children aged 5-17 worldwide were involved in child labour in 2013. CHILD LABOUR IN PREINDUSTRIAL SOCIETIES Child labour forms an intrinsic part of pre-industrial economies. In pre-industrial societies, there is rarely a concept of childhood in the modern sense. Children often begin to actively participate in activities such as child rearing, hunting and farming as soon as they are competent. In many societies, children as young as 13 are seen as adults and engage in the same activities as adults. The work of children was important in pre-industrial societies, as children needed to provide their labour for their survival and that of their group. Pre-industrial societies were characterised by low productivity andshort life expectancy; preventing children from participating in productive work would be more harmful to their welfare and that of their group in the long run. In pre-industrial societies, there was little need for children to attend school. This is especially the case in non-literate societies. Most pre- industrial skill and knowledge were amenable to being passed down through direct mentoring or apprenticing by competent adults. CAUSES OF CHILD LABOUR International Labour Organization (ILO) suggests poverty is the greatest single cause behind child labour. For impoverished households, income from a child's work is usually crucial for his or her own survival or for that of the household. Income from working children, even if small, may be between 25 and 40% of the household income. Other scholars such as Harsch on African child labour, and Edmonds and Pavcnik on global child labour have reached the same conclusion.Lack of meaningful alternatives, such as affordable schools and quality education, according to ILO, is another major factor driving children to harmful labour. Children work because they have nothing better to do. Many communities, particularly rural areas where between 60-70% of child labour is prevalent, do not possess adequate school facilities. Even when schools are sometimes available, they are too far away, difficult to reach, unaffordable or the quality of education is so poor that parents wonder if going to school is really worth it. Cultural In European history when child labour was common, as well as in contemporary child labour of modern world, certain cultural beliefs have rationalised child labour and thereby encouraged it. Some view that work is good for the character-building and skill development of children. In many cultures, particular where the informal economy and small household businesses thrive, the cultural tradition is that children follow in their parents’ footsteps. Child labour then is a means to learn and practice that trade from a very early age. Similarly, in many cultures the education of girls is less valued or girls are simply not expected to need formal schooling, and these girls pushed into child labour such as providing domestic services. Macroeconomics Biggeri and Mehrotra have studied the macroeconomic factors that encourage child labour. They focus their study on five Asian nationsinduding India, Pakistan, Indonesia, Thailand and Philippines. They suggest that child labour is a serious problem in all five, but it is not a new problem. Macroeconomic causes encouraged widespread child labour across the world, over most of human history. They suggest that the causes for child labour include both the demand and the supply side. While poverty and unavailability of good schools explain the child labour supply side, they suggest that the growth of low-paying informal economy rather than higher paying formal economy is amongst the causes of the demand side. Other scholars too suggest that inflexible labour market, size of informal economy, inability of industries to scale up and lack of modern manufacturing technologies are major macroeconomic factors affecting demand and acceptability of child labour. CHILD LABOUR IN INDIA In 2015, the country of Indiais home to the largest number of children who are working illegally in various industrial industries. Agriculture in India is the largest sector where many children work at early ages to help support their family. Many of these children are forced to work at young ages due to many family factors such as unemployment, large families, poverty, and lack of parental education. This is often the major cause of the high rate of child labour in India. Due to the increase of regulations and legal restrictions on child labour, there has been a 64 percent decline in child labour from 1993-2005. Although this is a great decrease in the country of India, there is still high numbers of children working in the rural areas of India. With 85 percent ofthe child labour occurring in rural areas and 15 percent occurring in urban areas, there are still substantial areas of concern in the country of India. India has legislation since 1986 which allows work by children in non- hazardous industry. In 2013, the Punjab and Haryana High Court gave a landmark order that directed that there shall be a total ban on the employment of children up to the age of 14 years, be it hazardous or non- hazardous industries. However, the Court ruled that a child can work with his or her family in family based trades/occupations, for the purpose of learning a new trade/craftsmanship or vocation. INCIDENTS OF CHILD LABOUR 1. Cocoa production 2. Mining in Africa 3. Meatpacking- H&M and Zara . Silk weaving Primark . Fireworks industry ONO . Textile industries ELIMINATING CHILD LABOUR 1. Spread awareness Parental awareness of the evils of child labor can prevent disruption in schooling and pushing of children into labor. Lack of understanding on the part of parents creates situations where traffickers prey upon children and many trafficked children end up in child labor. Aware communities can comprehend and respond to children’s issues much more effectively. Awareness also ensures that communities tap growth, education, employment, and enterprise opportunities and create a socially andeconomically developed society in which children suffer much less. NGOs use community events, sports, arts and theatre to educate communities about the importance of child rights. NGOs also create income resources, educational resources, and access to information services — all with an aim to help children and their communities march ahead. 2. More stringent laws and effective implementation Policymaking is essential to long lasting social change, and lobbying for better laws involves demonstrating how change can bring considerable benefit. NGOs research, and showcase findings regarding exploited children, and use case studies to establish how their work benefits children. Driving policy-level change requires relationships with several stakeholders — media, lawmakers, citizens, fellow civil society members, etc. Many cases have been filed under the recent Protection of Children Against Sexual Offences Act (2012) and Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, which have successfully translated in increased convictions, demonstrating how legislating can curb child trafficking. NGOs also maintain coordination with district and state level authorities for a vigilant eye on the implementation of pro-child laws. 3. Sending more children to school India has the world’s largest educational system, yet faces the hurdles of low literacy, due to low enrolment. Organisations like Save the Children execute several initiatives to boost children’s enrolment in schools.The organisation maps out-of-school children and those who are at risk of dropping out and ensures that they enter into the fold of education. Save the Children’s child education achievements includes the following: + Creating ‘Inclusive Learner Friendly Environments’ (ages 3-18 years) across settings as diverse as slums and villages + Create a dialogue with children and families to send children to school, provide admissions assistance Create fun, meaningful experiences in school, with child-friendly and interactive teaching-learning methods + Generate funding for, and establish libraries and infrastructure like computers, sports equipment and Mobile Learning Centres + Successfully bringing back out-of-school children (dropouts and both never-been-to-school children), street children, and child laborers to school 4. Discouraging people to employ children in homes, shops, factories, etc Child labor gets a resounding approval when Indian businesses openly use it, in industries like retail, hospitality, and menial work. NGOs. today sensitise trade organisations to end this social evil, and educate locals about reporting instances of child labor at businesses and homes. Save the Children has to its credit getting India’s biggest IT market declared child labor-free.5. Supporting NGOs like Save the Children Save the Children offers immediate aid to victims of child labor, while also working for long-term societal change through policy change. The NGO works to ensure that existing policies are followed through with action. It has rescued 9337 children from child labor, in pan-India ongoing relief and rescue missions. Present in 120 countries, Save the Children focuses on education and a new life of millions of children affected by armed conflict and exploitation. The NGO works with state and national level authorities, including Police departments of states to prevent child exploitation incidence in states such as Punjab, Delhi, Bihar, J&K, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Assam where vulnerability of children is high.BIBLIOGRAPHY 1.'Lost Sping’, by Anees Jung, NCERT. 2. International Labour Organisation (ILO) a specialized agency of the United Nations https://www.ilo.org/ipec/facts/lang--en/index.hem 3. SOS Children’s Villagess Canada, an International children’s charity. https://www.soschildrenvillages.ca/news/child-labour-in-india-588, 4. The Telegraph Online, an e-paper https://www.telegtraphindia.com/opinion/the-nightmare-of child- labour-in- sivakasi/cid/1677584 5. Business Standard, an epaper https://www. business-standard.com/article/current-affairs/how-sivakasi- redeemed-itself-114102000781 1.html 6.UNICEF, a part of the United Nations https:///www.unicef.org/protection/child-labour 7. Save the Children, an NGO https://www.savethechildren.in/child-protection/top-5-ways-to-tackle-the- problem-of-child-labor-in-india/ 8. Stop Child Labour, an organization https://stopchildlabour.org/about-child-labour/ 9.National Child Labour Project(NCLP) https://labour.gov.in/childlabour/nclp