Child labor a 'multidimensional' problem<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Hendra, an 11-year-old street beggar and trash collector, stays
\nsilent and stares at the sky when asked whether he wants to
\ncontinue his education.<\/p>\n
He has given up on his dream of sitting in a classroom since
\nhis parents moved out of Jasinga in Bogor to Jakarta three years
\nago. The move forced him to quit after just two years of
\nelementary school.<\/p>\n
Now he spends his mornings helping his father collect garbage
\nand his afternoons singing at an intersection in the Senayan area
\nof Central Jakarta for small change.<\/p>\n
Getting Hendra and 7 million other Indonesian child laborers
\nback in school is more complex than simply providing enough
\nchairs for them, according to a national seminar jointly
\norganized by the International Labor Organization and the
\nNational Development Planning Board on Monday.<\/p>\n
Hendra comes from a family of six, who are dependent on the
\nextra Rp 30,000 (US$3.1) income he collects from handouts on the
\nstreets -- as is the case for most of the other Indonesian
\nchildren who have been forced into work due to poverty.<\/p>\n
The seminar on Monday was aimed at seeking guidelines for the
\nimplementation of a National Strategic Action Plan to eradicate
\nthe worst forms of child labor by 2009.<\/p>\n
For the last few years, the government has planned a two-
\npronged program, which combines efforts to decrease the number of
\nout-of-school children by providing transitional education grants
\nand an informal education program with efforts to build capacity
\namong poor families through job-training and capital provision.<\/p>\n
In its latest survey, ILO found that one in five school-aged
\nchildren from poor families had no access to education and
\nexperienced various kinds of exploitation at work -- both in the
\nformal and informal sectors.<\/p>\n
\"Child labor is a multi-dimensional problem, which cannot be
\nresolved solely by the education authorities,\" Irwanto, an expert
\non child labor explained.<\/p>\n
He asserted that the form of education provided for child
\nlaborers must consider several factors.<\/p>\n
\"They lack nutrition, are already exhausted from work, lost
\nwhat they learned previously and some do not see the importance
\nof education,\" Irwanto said.<\/p>\n
Therefore, he suggested that the format of education for the
\nchildren be time-flexible, provide only the necessary life-
\nskills, vocational and basic studies, and adopt a more
\nexperimental approach.<\/p>\n
Irwanto pointed out several past failures where a large amount
\nof donated money had been pumped into programs that were not
\nsustainable.<\/p>\n
\"There were only 12 child laborers left in school at the end
\nof the program, after it began with 70, because there was no
\ncooperation with the parents, the employers or the children
\nthemselves,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Ahmad Marzuki from the Child Labor Network (Jarak) said that
\nforms of education for the children should be specified according
\nto the characteristics of their work. The intervention method to
\napproach the children should also differ from that targeting
\nlabor-prone children to actual child laborers.<\/p>\n
\"For those who are out of school and likely looking for work,
\nwe still can send them to school,\" he said. \"But, a child working
\nin a factory cannot be forced to take full-time classes.\"<\/p>\n
Ahmad emphasized the need for an integrated intervention,
\nwhich would include compulsory education, poverty eradication and
\nsocial services.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, ILO country representative Alan Boulton said that a
\ndecrease in school fees would help bring the child laborers back
\nto school.<\/p>\n
\"Most of them are at work because their parents could not
\nafford to pay for their school fees,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The Ministry of National Education has claimed that compulsory
\neducation is free of charge for children from poor families.
\nHowever, the promised funding for schools to provide such free
\neducation will only be delivered in August at the earliest, while
\nthe new academic year will start in July. (003)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/child-labor-a-multidimensional-problem-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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