Child Labor in Hazardous Environments: A Crime Against Education

Abstract

Child labour in deplorable conditions has remained one of the most burning international human rights and education issues. Although many international conventions and domestic laws forbid the use of children in hazardous jobs, millions of children across the globe continue to work in hazardous jobs, especially in the mining industries, agricultural sectors, construction and production. Such places subject children to unhealthy chemicals, inappropriate machinery, and harsh working conditions which pose a direct health risk, safety, and above all, their right to an education. In this paper, the author is going to discuss the continuation of child labor in dangerous conditions, its historical context, the socio-economic processes that perpetuate it, and how it is destroying the education sector. The paper, based on secondary data in international reports, academic literature, and international case studies, will argue the point that child labor is not merely an economic issue, but a crime against education because it traps people in poverty, illiteracy and inequality. The discussion shows how it is important that laws, social protection programs and community based interventions that focus on education are enforced with more stringency. The research finds that child labor can only be eradicated through a holistic approach in which governments, industries and civil society collaborate to see to it that all children are safeguarded, rehabilitated and access to quality education.