Child Labor Industrial Revolution
Child labor is a complex problem that demands a range of solutions. There is no better way to prevent child labor than to make education compulsory. The west understood this a long time ago. Laws were enacted very early to secure continued education for working children and now they have gone a step forward and required completion of at least the preliminary education of the child before he or she starts work.
Martin Luther as back far 1524 sent a letter to German Municipalities insisting it was their duty to provide schools, and the duty of parents to educate their children. In Sweden, a royal decree in 1723 instructed parents and guardians to diligently see to it that their children applied themselves to book reading. In Europe, one country after another; Scotland, Prussia (1817), Austria (1869), France, United Kingdom (1880), and Italy made education compulsory. In 1872, Japan became the first non-Western country to make elementary school education compulsory with the declaration by the Meiji Govt.
The present government in Pakistan has made elementary education compulsory and there is a national child labor committee as well. Along with this, the government has distributed free books in primary schools so that parents, who cannot afford their children’s school expenses, send their children to schools. The major point is that this decision must be acted upon at all levels. There is a strict need to stop child labor in this country. Awareness must be raised and the attention of parents ought to be diverted to the education of their children. Child Labour Laws should be put into practice strictly. In addition, the educational system of the country must be reshaped and restructured according to national development goals. The orphans and other deserving children must be helped financially on a prolonged basis. It is also essential to eliminate child labor from the country, that the political, economical, and social system of the country needs to be reshaped and such steps are taken that make child Labor in this country a crime. They should bring on the well-being of a layman, good governance, and end to exploitative thinking. If we succeed to act upon these principles, our country can easily get rid of this problem i.e. child Labor. The agreement that has recently been approved by Pakistan, Norway, and ILO to eradicate child Labor must be given importance and we hope that our rulers must put this agreement into practice using all means at their disposal.
