Child labour, education and children’s rights


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This World Bank social protection discussion paper reviews the international legal framework relating to child labour and access to education and provides a statistical portrait of child labour and education participation. It examines why children work, from the perspective of household decision-making, and identifies policy options to address the constraints households face with regard to schooling their children. The paper contends that child labour is bad for the health, well-being and development both of individual children, and of the societies in which they live. It concludes that, if allowed to persist to its current extent, child labour will prevent the Millennium Development Goals of halving poverty and achieving education for all from being achieved. The authors emphasize the need for a pragmatic and multi-sectoral approach, with flexibility for developing countries to adapt policy interventions in line with country-level circumstances and priorities.

Authors: G. Betcherman; J. Fares; A. Luinstra; R. Prouty
Publisher: World Bank, 2004

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