Develop rural economy to eliminate child labour

Without developing rural economy it would not be possible to eliminate child labour from hazardous work as most of the children who come from villages to cities are engaged in hazardous work, said the speakers at a seminar.
The seminar titled 'Child labour in Bangladesh: Problems and the way out' was organised by labour and employment ministry at Biam auditorium in the city.
The seminar was aimed to gather recommendations for starting the third phase of its ongoing project titled ' To eliminate child labour from hazardous work' which is providing vocational and skill training to children engaged in hazardous work.
Speaking as chief guest Engineer Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain, minister for labour & employment and expatriates' welfare & overseas employment, said it is not possible to eliminate child labour over night.
It is important to identify the causes of child labour first and then action plan would be taken accordingly to eliminate child labour gradually, he added.
"As part of the action plan the ministry has been operating the project under which around 30,000 child labour engaged in hazardous work were provided with vocational and skill training from 2006 to 2009," the minister said.
Mentioning that 50 percent of the total population are women he said, “If we can ensure employment opportunity for them alongside ensuring proper resource management then it can help eliminate child labour from the society.”
He also urged the non-government organisations to address the issue as it is difficult for the government alone to solve the problem.
Joint Secretary to the Ministry of Labour and Employment Abul Kashem who was in the chair said the government is making a plan to integrate employers, NGOs and research organisations into the elimination of child labour from hazardous work.
Speaking on the occasion Begum Wahida Banu, executive director of Aparajeo Bangladesh, an organisation working with children, stressed the need for engaging rights organisations to deal with the issue.
The speakers said life-oriented education, skill training, creating job market, and establishing area-based safety net are must to eliminate child labour from hazardous work.
They also stressed the need for introducing touch screen instead of black board to draw the attention of children to their study.
Ataharul Islam, acting secretary of labour and employment ministry, and Kamran T Rahman, president of Bangladesh Employers' Federation also spoke at the seminar.