Education: An Important Remedy for Child Labour

Child Labour has been one of the biggest obstacles to social development. In India, it has been on surge for the last decades. According to United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF), India with its large population has the highest number of labourers in the world under the age of 14 years of age. It refers to the children who miss their childhood and engage in economic activities on part time or full time basis. This practice deprives children of their childhood and is harmful to their physical and mental development. Poverty, lack of good schools and growth of informal economy are important causes of child labour. This paper stresses on the important remedy of eliminating child labour and that is education. Education is a crucial component of any effective effort to eradicate child labour. Every child has the right to education and must use it. A holistic approach to education is necessary. Children with no access to education have little alternative but to enter the labour market. The decreasing net enrollment ratio at upper primary level is a matter of concern. The paper attempts to study the extent of child labour and net enrollment ratio in selected states. The need for not only quality education systems but coverage of large number of students in the official primary age group of 5 to 14 years is emphasized.