9,000 child workers return to school

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) began yesterday the implementation of a four-year project aimed at providing free education to over 9,000 child workers in the country.

This means that child workers nationwide can now look forward to a better future as they abandon their jobs and go back to school, labor officials said.

Labor Secretary Marianito Roque said the DOLE is signing today with the World Vision Development Foundation (WVDF) and the Christian Children’s Fund (CCF) an agreement to implement the project and give child workers access to educational opportunities.

Roque said the project, dubbed “Pag-aaral ng mga Bata Para sa Kinabukasan” (ABK2) or Take Every Action for Children (TEACH), would be undertaken with grants from the United States’ Department of Labor.

Under the project, DOLE said children who used to work in the mining industry, pyrotechnics and sugarcane plantations will be back in class this school year.

Former scavengers, domestic helpers, fishermen, and child prostitutes are also among the beneficiaries of the program.

After four years of project implementation, some 30,000 child workers are expected to complete elementary and secondary education.

Roque said representatives from the DOLE, WDF, CCF, and other social partners in the national drive against child labor would gather at the Bulacan State University (BSU) in Malolos, Bulacan where the main celebration of World Day Against Child Labor will be held today.

He said the theme of the celebration, “Education is the right response to child labor,” underscores the importance of education as a major strategy in preventing and eliminating child labor.

“Child workers often find themselves forced to drop out of school in favor of working to supplement family income or simply support themselves, but this time, they have the chance for a better future,” he said.

To help the children sustain their schooling, Roque said the ABK2 project would provide resources and access to relevant education programs to beneficiaries.

Project activities would focus on reducing child workers’ barriers to attending formal school and expanding skills and business-based learning opportunities for children 15 to 17 years old.

DOLE would also connect the parents of the beneficiaries with its pro-poor programs, particularly those that provide wage and livelihood opportunities to improve their income.

The project would be implemented in areas where there is high incidence of child labor, such the National Capital Region, Bulacan, Camarines Norte, Iloilo, Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental, Cebu, Leyte, Davao del Sur, and Compostela Valley.

“Educating children while providing their parents with income sources are the long-term solutions to break the bondage of poverty that ties child workers and their families to the cycle of child labor,” Roque said. –Mayen Jaymalin, The Philippine Star