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Poverty, Education and Child Labour in Aligarh City-India

Ayaz Ahmad

Department of Geography, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh 202 002, Uttar Pradesh, IndiaE-mail: [email protected]

KEYWORDS Children. Family Size. Households. Income. Literacy

ABSTRACT Child labour is commonly associated with poverty. However, the empirical evidence on this link is weak. Childlabour in India is to be found in almost every sector of the informal economy. Children are to be found working in workshopsand small factories, in dhabas and restaurant, on the street as well as domestic servants. It is generally assumed that as householdwealth increases children will be progressively withdrawn from labour activities in favour of schooling. Being out of schooland deprived of education, the world of prospects, possibilities and opportunities is closed for them. Any work that denies themtheir right to education must therefore be regarded as hazardous. This paper analyses the relationship between education andthe phenomenon of child labour in Aligarh city. Poverty is really the most important reason for child labour and consequentlylow school participation in the city. Parental motivation for education and the quality of education are other factors beinghighlighted in the search for the reasons of low school participation and high incidents of child labour. The study shows that aschildren are enjoying their right to education, there are changes in the existing socio- economic formation towards greaterparticipation and confidence of the people.

INTRODUCTION

Child labour is a wide-ranging problem ofthe society, especially in the underdevelopedcountries and nations that are in a developmentstage. It is a cause of major concern for the gov-ernment. Children work and exert for variousreasons and the prime and the top reason is pov-erty and illiteracy and the induced pressure intheir life so that they can escape from this plightof poverty (Khan 1979; Gangrade and Gandhi1983; George 1990).

Child labour is generally speaking, work forchildren, which harms them or exploits themin some way (physically, mentally, morally orby blocking access to education). In otherwords, child labour includes children prema-turely leading adult lives, working long hoursfor low wages, under conditions damaging totheir health, to their physical and mental devel-opment, sometimes separated from their fami-lies, frequently deprived of meaningful educa-tion and training opportunities that could openup for them a better future” (ILO 1983).

The issues and exclusion of education andpoverty are intricately related to child labour.Poverty provides the potential condition of put-ting children to work. The children are alsoforced to earn livelihood for themselves as wellas for their families and it prevents them fromrealizing their full potential (Weiner 1991;Mishra 2000; Zutshi et al. 2006).

Child labour and the worst forms of childlabour, as defined by International Labour

Organization (ILO ) Conventions, damagechildren’s health, threaten their education andlead to further exploitation and abuse. UNICEFdoes not oppose work that children may per-form at home, on the family farm or for a fam-ily business – as long as that work is not a dan-ger to their health and well-being, and if itdoesn’t prevent them from going to school andenjoying childhood activities. Based on the 2001census, 252,000 children are engaged in beedimanufacturing and 208,833 in the constructionsector. An estimated 185,595 children are em-ployed as domestic help and in dhabas (smallroadside eateries), 49,893 children work in auto-repair workshops.

Within the existing social framework, manytimes a child has to accept his family occupa-tion and assist his parents, considering the factthat he has to accept his family tradition from atender age not attending school irrespective ofthe degree of poverty. In some cases, parentswish their children to work to keep them occu-pied and off the streets so that they do not getinto mischief or be tempted to drift into va-grancy. Children also work when they do notperform well at school and have no alternativeavailable. In some instances, the home situa-tion compels children to work and earn inde-pendently. When a family migrates from ruralarea to town, it faces the unknown labour situa-tions, which brings instability and insecurity forthe family for which children are to work forsurvival of the family (Singh 1980; Suman1998).

© Kamla-Raj 2012 Stud Home Com Sci, 6(3): 165-172 (2012)

Objectives

The researcher attempts the following objec-tives:1. To explore the socio-economic conditions

of child labour households.2. To find out various reasons for the emer-

gence of child labourers in Aligarh city.3. To find out working hour of the child labour

in Aligarh city.4. To determine the average income of the

children and their contribution to thefamily.

5. To identity the various types of child labour.

METHODOLOGY

This is a descriptive cum analytical study. Itportrays the problems and socio-economic char-acteristics of children working in Aligarh cityand tries to provide solutions. A survey basedon a sample of 380 child workers was conductedin the various sectors of economy in Aligarh city.Only primary sources of information have beenmade use of in the study. Primary data for allcategories of child workers were collectedthrough personal interview using interviewschedule. As regards the sample method, theresearcher adopted random sampling. 380working children were selected from differentareas randomly and interviewed. Since they didnot know English, the researcher used to ex-plain them in Hindi and their responses werenoted down in the proper column of the ques-tionnaire.

Different tools of empirical research viz.,interview with child labourers with the help ofstructured and guided schedule, formal and in-formal discussions and participant observationsetc. form part of the methodology of the presentstudy. A field diary had also been maintained tonote down the off-coming comments for analy-sis. The data and information so collected havebeen tabulated, analysed and presented in a re-port form. Table 1 show the surveyed childlabour population in Aligarh city.

ALIGARH CITY, THE SURVEY AREA

Aligarh is located 27o53’N latitude and78o04’E longitude, at a distance of 130 km tothe south-east of Delhi on Delhi-Kolkata rail-way line and Grand Trunk Road. Aligarh is an

Table 1: Location of the child labour in Aligarh city

S. Surveyed areas Numbers PercentageNo.

1 Upper Kot 53 142 Jamalpur 57 153 Dodhpur 46 124 Shamshad Market 27 75 Kela Nagar 38 106 G. T. Road 34 97 Agra Road 30 88 Railway Station 53 149 Purani Chungi 42 11

Total 380 100

Source: Based on field survey 2011

important town of Uttar Pradesh. The total areaof Aligarh city is 33.98 sq km and its total popu-lation is 669087 of which 356725 are males312362 are females by Census of India (2001).The literacy rate in the city is 65.38 percent andthe male literacy rate is 75.85 and females are54.16. Muslims constitute nearly one-third ofthe Aligarh’s total population. Since indepen-dence Aligarh has grown from a small town toan important centre for industry and learning.There are three factors, which have contributedto the development of Aligarh. These includethe establishment of Aligarh Muslim Univer-sity (AMU) during pre-independence period, thegrowth of trade through the establishment oflight industries, and its demarcation as the dis-trict headquarters which gave it administrativeimportance (Fig.1).

SOCIO-ECONOMIC COMPOSITION OFCHILD LABOUR IN ALIGARH CITY

Employment of children is a reflection ofnumerous social, economic and demographicfactors. The family background of the respon-dents assumes more significance because it isthe family where the child learns the basic skillsto cope with social norms, values and demands.It has its own pattern of interpersonal relations,acts as an agency for socialization which in turnis affected by the socio-economic conditions ofthe family.

Age-Sex Composition

Table 2 shows the Age-Sex composition ofthe child labour. An analysis of the data in thistable shows that the highest percentage of childworkers is in age group 12 to 14, which consti-

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Fig. 1. Aligarh city: Location of sampled child labour

POVERTY, EDUCATION AND CHILD LABOUR 167

1. Upper kote

2. Kelanagar

3. Dodhpur

4. Jamalpur

5. Shamshad market

6. G. T. Road

7. Railway station

8. Purani chung

9. Agra Road

Sampled place

Road

Railway line

Ward boundary

500 0 500 1000

km

tutes 43 per cent of the total child labour popu-lation. Other major contributions are of the agegroup 9 to 11 and 6 to 8, which are 33 per centand 18 per cent respectively.

Table 2: Age-sex composition of child labour in Aligarhcity

Age group Numbers Total % Cumulativepercentage

Male % Female %

Below 6 2 4 6 66-8 13 5 18 249-11 29 4 33 5712-14 43 0 43 100

All 87 13 100 100


The remaining 6 per cent children belong tobelow 6 years of age. In this survey the malescontribute 87 per cent of the total child labourand girls contribute only 13 per cent while ma-jority of those aged below 8 years work withtheir family members. There is no female childworker found in the age group of 12 to 14 yearsbecause of that, all of the work in this study isnot favourable for that age group. A unique trendhas been found in the table that as the age groupincreases, the percentage share of child labouralso increases.

Religious Composition

The surveyed child labour falls into two reli-gious categories viz., Hindu and Muslim. A sub-stantial number of them were Muslims, account-ing for 57 per cent of the total and Hindus, whichwas 43 per cent. Out of total male child labourpopulation, about 45 per cent are Hindus and55 per cent are Muslims, and majority of thetotal female child labour belongs to the Muslimcommunity. The above information is given inTable 3.

Table 3: Religious composition

Religion Male Female Total Cumulative(%) (%) % percentage

Hindu 39(44.83) 4(30.77) 43 43Muslim 48(55.17) 9(69.23) 57 100

All 87 13 100 100


Educational Status

Education is of utmost importance for theproper growth and development of the indi-

vidual. It plays an important role in one’s lifein the sense that it helps in shaping the rightkind of life style in the human beings. About 90per cent of the child labour in various sectors inAligarh are illiterate, 5 per cent can read andwrite only and remaining are literate only uptoprimary level. Children are unable to go toschool because of the need to work, discrimina-tion, or because of costs. In some places, it isbelieved that girls do not need an education, orthat boys are better off working.

Occupational Structure

Table 4 indicates that eight categories of workare being undertaken by children in Aligarh city.Out of these eight categories, girls were engagedonly in two types of work. These are domestichelp and rag picking. But so far as boys are con-cerned, they are engaged in all types of work.The table shows that majority 26 per cent of thechild workers were engaged in rag picking fol-lowed by dhaba workers/road side cafe 23 percent. 10 per cent were involved in cycle / scooterrepairing 17 per cent were mechanics followedby vendors (12 per cent) and some worked intea shops/juice corners (5 per cent), 3 per centworked as rickshaw pullers and remaining 4 percent engaged in other activities like domestichelp, barbers, washing cars and collecting fire-wood. Thus we see that children are engaged inall types of work no matter what their age.

Table 4: Occupational structure of child labour in AligarhCity

S. Types of works Percentage CumulativeNo. percentage

1 Dhabas/Hotels 23 232 Mechanic 17 403 Repairing work 10 504 Rag pickers 26 765 Tea shops/Juice corners 5 816 Vendors 12 937 Rickshaw pullers 3 968 Others 4 100

Total 100 100


Wages

Wages determine the economic status of ahousehold. The wages which the working chil-dren receive depend upon various factors like,nature of job-skilled, semi-skilled or unskilled;

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duration of working hours; risk involved in thework; nature of employment - daily wage, con-tract or regular; etc. Table 5 indicates the in-come of child workers in the Aligarh City. Themonthly earning of child labourers was calcu-lated on the basis of type of work performed,hours worked and nature of payment they havereceived from all working days in a month.

Table 5: Monthly income of child worker

S. Monthly income Percentage CumulativeNo. (Rs.) percentage

1 Up to 500 9 92 500-1000 15 243 1000-1500 19 434 1500-2000 23 665 2000-2500 26 926 Above 2500 8 100

Total 100 100


Table 5 indicates that majority of workingchildren (26%) received a monthly income be-tween Rs. 2000 to 2500. The wages of workingchildren in Aligarh city ranges from Rs. 500 toRs. 3,000 per month. There were 23 per centchildren who earned between Rs. 1500 to Rs.2000 per month followed by 19 per cent chil-dren whose earnings were between Rs.1000 toRs. 1500 and 15 per cent earn Rs. 500 to Rs.1000. Besides, there were 8 per cent childrenwho earned more than Rs. 2,500 per month andremaining 9 per cent earned up to Rs.500 Allthe children received their income in cash, someon daily basis, some weekly and some monthly,depending upon the type of work they were do-ing.

Working Hours

As per the law, children should not work forlonger hours. But in practice the law is notstrictly followed. When asked them about theirdaily working hours, they gave a number ofmixed responses which is presented in Table6.

Table 6 indicates that irrespective of occupa-tion, majority of child workers 32 per cent werefound to work for 12 to 14 hours a day. Theresearcher were surprised to note that none ofthe children had normal working hours of lessthan four hours a day. More than 14 hours ofwork were undertaken by 15 per cent child work-

Table 6: Daily working hours of the child workers

S. Working hours Percentage CumulativeNo. percentage

1 Below 8 12 122 8-10 14 263 10-12 27 534 12-14 32 855 More Than 14 15 100

Total 100 100


ers. There were 27 per cent children who wereworking for 10-12 hours a day. Only 12 per centchildren used to work for below 8 hours a dayand 14 per cent of child labour work for 8-10hours, these children were self-employed.

Importance Given to Work

Table 7 indicates that about one- fourth ofchild workers gave importance to work becauseof poverty, 17 per cent said they wanted to earnmoney and same per cent, opined that it wasdue to parents’ compulsion. Besides these, 15per cent were not interested in studies, 11 percent wanted to supplement family income, 9 percent wanted to learn the work and 6 per centhad no earning member in the family. Thus, itis seen that a number of reasons have been givento prove that work is more important than edu-cation. It is clear from the table that majority ofthe child workers preferred to work, not onlybecause of poor economic condition, of the fam-ily, or because they want to earn money, but alsobecause neither the parents nor the childrenthemselves were interested in school education.Both the parents as well as the child workersviewed life from the point of view of presentsmall return without education, rather than fu-ture higher (probably) returns after a certainlevel of education.

Table 7: Cause of child labour

S. Causes of child labour Percentage CumulativeNo. percentage

1 Poverty 25 252 Earn money 17 423 Parent’s compulsion 17 594 Not interested in studies 15 745 Supplement family income 11 856 Learn the work 9 947 No earning hands 6 100

Total 100 100



Educational Level of the Family

Education acts as a catalyst for social up-liftment enhancing the returns on investmentsfor almost all aspects of developmental efforts,be it population control, health and hygiene,women empowerment or poverty reduction.Data from Table 8 reveals that literacy levels ofthe parents in the sampled are low. 67 per centfathers and 79 per cent mothers could neitherread nor write. A study of child labour indicatesthat only 8 per cent fathers and 2 per cent moth-ers had studied up to primary level, 13 per centfathers and 5 per cent mothers read or writeonly.

Table 8: Educational level of the family

S. Educational level Father MotherNo. Per- Cumu- Per- Cumu-

cent- lative cent- lativeage per- age per-

cent- cent-age age

1 Illiterate 67 67 79 792 Read or write only 13 80 5 843 Up to primary level 8 88 2 864 Dead 12 100 14 100

Total 100 100 100 100


Occupational Structure of the Family

Parental occupation is a major variable whichdetermines child labour. Majority of the parentsof the child labour in Aligarh city are eitherunemployed or have no permanent occupation.The study reveals that majority of child labourbelongs to wage labour families. Seasonal un-employment among the parents of the workingchildren made it difficult to classify their occu-pation clearly. An analysis of the occupation ofthe family as shown in Table 9 reveals that allthe members in child labour family were em-ployed in low paying occupations, 38 per centfathers and 14 per cent mothers were labourersand 17 per cent fathers and 5 per cent motherswere vendors. 12 per cent fathers of the childlabour worked as rickshaw pullers, 11 per centas mechanics and 7 per cent collected waste. 15per cent of the child labour did not have fathesror had unemployed fathers, while 69 per centmothers were housewives and 14 per cent childlabour had no mothers.

Table 9: Occupational structure of the family

S. Occupation Father MotherNo. Per- Cumu- Per- Cumu-

cent- lative cent- lativeage per- age per-

cent- cent-age age

1 Labourer 38 38 14 142 Vendor 17 55 5 193 Mechanic 11 66 - -4 Rag picker 7 73 8 275 Rickshaw puller 12 85 - -6 Dead/Unemployed/ 15 100 73 100

House work

Total 100 100 100 100


Size of the Family

The size of household has an important bear-ing on the determination of economic conditionsof the households. Table 10 shows the size ofthe family in child labour households. Data re-veals that the percentage of the family size in-creases with the increase of the family mem-bers. As regards the size of the family, 28 percent child labour belonged to families with threeto five members, 20 per cent has six membersin their families while the majority of childlabour has seven or more than seven membersin their family. The average size of the familieswas found to be 6.45.

Table 10: Size of the family

S. No. of family members Percentage CumulativeNo. percentage

1 Up to 2 3 32 3 6 93 4 8 174 5 14 315 6 20 516 7 and above 49 100

Total 100 100


Monthly Income of the Child LabourFamily Excluding Child Labour

The economic profile of the families in Table11 indicates a poor or marginalized status formajority of the families. About half of childlabourers reported that the monthly income oftheir family is extremely insufficient. Out ofthese, 15 per cent fathers of the child labour are

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either dead or unemployed. 23 per cent childlabour belongs to the families with a monthlyincome of less than Rs. 1000 while 9 per centfamilies earn between Rs. 100 to Rs. 1500. 21per cent families have monthly income of Rs.1500-2000 and 14 per cent have Rs. 2000-2500,only 18 per cent families earn more than Rs.2500 per month.

Table 11: Monthly income of the family

S. Monthly income (in Rs.) Percentage CumulativeNo. percentage

1 No income/Father 15 15 unemployed/Dead

2 Less than 1000 23 383 1000-1500 9 474 1500-2000 21 685 2000-2500 14 826 More than 2500 18 100

Total 100 100


Contribution Level ofChildren to Family Income

The findings of the study indicate that childworkers’ contribution to family income is quitesignificant. If we consider various incomegroups of child labour households, we findthat children contributing more than half theincome to their family. 28 per cent of childrencontribute 40 to 60 per cent of their family in-come and one fifth children contribute 60 to 80per cent of their family income. About one- thirdof children share up to 20 per cent of their fam-ily income, in which about one- fourth of chil-dren contribute 20 to 40 % to the total familyincome. Only 8 per cent children contributeless than 20 per cent income to their family and21 per cent children share more than 80 percent to their family income (Table 12).

Table 12: Contribution level among child labour

S. Contribution range Percentage CumulativeNo. percentage

1 Below 20% 8 82 20-40% 23 313 40-60% 28 594 60-80% 20 795 Above 80 % 21 100

Total 100 100


CONCLUSION

It is not possible to eradicate child labourwithout eradicating poverty. The regions wherechild labour flourish are characterised by inad-equate economic growth, poverty, unemploy-ment, over population and lack of basic socialservices, such as education and health care.

The main cause of child labour is poverty,unemployment, illiteracy of the parents and ex-cess population. Among these, poverty is theprimary reason for the existence of child labourand other factors are inter-related to each other.The researcher have observed that poor fami-lies have more number of children, so it becomesvery difficult for them to survive on the incomeof only one family member which is quite less.So they make their small children their sourceof income. They make their children work infactories, shops, household work, even sellingitems on street. The employers who prefer childworkers for many occupations further aggravatethis issue. They get a docile or submissive workforce of unorganised and non-unionised chil-dren who put up with low wages and exploit-ative conditions. Again juvenile work force ischaracterised by long working hours in sub-hu-man conditions, very little money and practi-cally no freedom nor any kind of social secu-rity.

Child labour in India is a grave and exten-sive problem. Children under the age of four-teen years are forced to work in various sectorsof economy in Aligarh city. Child labour is oneof the main components in these unorganisedsectors of Aligarh city. Children pay extremelylow wages, for which adults refuse to work,while forcing the youngsters to slave under per-ilous and unhygienic labour conditions. Manyof these children are migrant workers, the ma-jority coming from surrounding areas of Aligarhdistrict and Bihar, who are sent away by theirfamilies to earn an income to be sent directlyhome. Thus, children are forced to endure thedespicable conditions, as their families dependon their wages.

The situation of the children is desperate.Most work around twelve hours a day, with onlysmall breaks for meals. Ill-nourished, the chil-dren are very often fed only minimal staples.The vast majority of migrant child workers whocan’t return home at night sleep alongside theirwork place, further inviting sickness and poorhealth.


RECOMMENDATIONS

Child labour is a significant problem in In-dia. The prevalence of it is shown by the childwork participation rates, which are higher inIndia than in other developing countries. Themajor determinant of child labour is poverty.Even though children are paid less than adults,whatever income they earn is of benefit to poorfamilies.

In addition to poverty, the lack of adequateand accessible sources of credit forces poor par-ents to engage their children in the harsher formof child labour - bonded child labour. Some par-ents also feel that a formal education is not ben-eficial, and that children learn work skillsthrough labour at a young age. The state of edu-cation in India also needs to be improved. Highilliteracy and dropout rates are reflective of theinadequacy of the educational system. Povertyplays a role in the ineffectiveness of the educa-tional system. Dropout rates are high becausechildren are forced to work in order to supporttheir families. The attitudes of the people alsocontribute to the lack of enrolment - parents feelthat work develops skills that can be used toearn an income, while education does not helpin this matter.

Changing the structure of the workforce andhiring a high number of currently unemployedadults in greatly improved work conditions isonly the first step in this lengthy process.

A cycle of poverty is formed and the need forchild labour is reborn after every generation.India needs to address the situation by tacklingthe underlying causes of child labour throughgovernmental policies and the enforcement ofthese policies. Only then will India succeed inthe fight against child labour. In conclusionpoverty constraints and income opportunitiesplay important role in the decision to send chil-dren to school or to work. Continuation of edu-cation for the long run will break the intergen-erational cycle of poverty and backwardness andan inclusive process of national development onprinciples of equity and social justice is estab-lished. Therefore, it is one of the obligations ofthe state to take steps to ensure that every childis in school and that no child is engaged in work.

v There should be compulsory education toall school aged children because educationhelps children learn skills that will helpthem earn a living.

v The age of children should be amendedfrom 14 years to 16 years.

v Children should be paid the same wage asadults; this will remove the economic in-centive to employ child labourers.

v Children should be provided with non-formal job oriented education, such that itenhances their skill, which would enablethem to shift to more remunerative satis-faction and less hazardous alternative em-ployment.

v There should be a practical time boundstandardization or uniformity programs toeliminate child labour.

v The legislature should define ‘child labour’and thereby remove the confusion regard-ing the scope of child labour.

v The constitution should cast a duty on theguardian to send the child to school.

v Not only government but also every citizentakes to responsibility to give financial sup-port to every economically poor family.

REFERENCES

Census of India 2001. Series-1, India, Provisional PopulationTotals, Paper 1 of 2001. New Delhi: Office of theRegistrar General.

Gangrade, KD, Gandhi JA 1983. Women and Child Workersin Unorganised Sector. New Delhi: Concept PublishingCompany.

George I 1990. Child Labour and Child Work. New Delhi:Ashish Publishing House.

ILO 1983. Report of the Director General. ThirteenthInternational Conference of Labour Statisticians.Geneva: International Labour Office.

Khan MA 1979. Sociological Aspects of Child Development.New Delhi: Concept Publishing Company.

Mishra L 2000. Child Labour in India. New Delhi: OxfordUniversity Press.

Singh M 1980. Working Children in Bombay: A Study. NewDelhi: Shipra Publications.

Suman CK 1998. Problems and issues on child labour inIndia. Social Action, 48:19-34.

Weiner M 1991. The Child and the State in India. New Delhi:Oxford University Press.

Zutshi B, Joshi S, Vajpeyl A 2006. Review of Child Labour,Education and Poverty Agenda. India Country Report.New Delhi: Global March Against Child Labour.

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