In Bangladesh, there are 3.2 million children, aged five to seventeen, who do not attend school. They are working to earn money for their families, collecting coal to fire kilns and earning $4 per week…
It’s a hazardous job for young children due to the dust. Still there are many who work these jobs near the capital of Dhaka and elsewhere around the country. Child labor is a horrendous problem in that part of the world according to UNICEF,
About half of all child labourers do not go to school at all – many others miss out on big chunks of their education because they do not have time to attend classes or study at home. “Families struggle to survive every day and need to find resources for one or two meals a day,” child rights activist Marist Brother Cesar Henriquez told UCANews. “Any kind of work, no matter how low the pay, is needed to cover their basic needs.”
Bangladesh had originally hoped to end child labor by 2015, but it is now aiming for 2019. The secretary to the Labour Ministry says, “We are accepting the fact that we have failed to fulfil our promise to remove child labour – but we are hopeful to achieve the target within 2019.” Another report discovered that child labour is mostly a problem in five areas–transport; warehousing, wholesale and retail business; vehicle repairing; construction; and mineral.
Many families can not afford to send their children to school. The ministry of education says, “We are conducting various activities to bring back children to school,” he added. “We have arranged financial benefits alongside food at school for children from poor families. We have also made arrangements for educating street children.”
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