Skip to main content

Factors for succcess in vocational education for child laborers


Child labor projects funded by the United States Department of Labor (USDOL) mitigate exploitive labor through the provision of relevant education programs. Predominantly these programs provide primary and secondary schooling to former child laborers. Vocational programs cost more per student and are therefore usually limited, depending on available funds.

However, the success of vocational programs to retain students and provide them with income opportunities after graduation, make them highly viable in combating child labor.

A USDOL project in northern Uganda provided 8,176 beneficiaries with access to education in 137 primary schools, 52 secondary schools, 8 accelerated learning centers, and 28 vocational educational institutions. Most enrollments were in formal primary/secondary schools (70%), with 18% in vocational institutes, and 12% in accelerated learning programs. The project’s emphasis on girls’ education and the inclusion of child mothers into vocational training courses contributed to the project’s strengths.

The Ugandan Ministry of Education and Sports (MoES) credited USDOL projects' high retention rate to the following:

• USDOL projects are selective in identifying students for support;
• USDOL projects pay tuition and examination fees, and supplies uniforms, bags and shoes to beneficiaries;
• USDOL projects provide psycho-social counseling for students; and
• USDOL projects follow-up on all students.

The Government of Uganda does not have the resources to emulate the success of USDOL projects. Neither do other countries combating child labor or the low retention rate of students, particularly girls, in education programs.

USDOL's other strength is their teacher training interventions. USDOL projects conduct training for teachers in a range of topics, in addition to child labor, such as guidance and counseling; learner-centered methodologies; the use of instructional materials; child rights and child protection; HIV/AIDS; peace education; and reading corners. The added confidence and skills enables teachers to create welcoming classrooms conducive to group work and learner-centered methodologies that increase the interest of students, attain high retention levels, and improve students’ academic performance.

Projects designed around a community-driven multi-faceted approach with a multi-pronged referral system and community-based child monitoring system by stakeholders, such as community groups, line ministries, education and labor inspectors, committees, parents and students also contributes to the success of child labor programs. USDOL interventions, based upon participatory and inclusive decision-making, contribute to positive and transformational changes toward the reduction of child labor.





Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Pir-E-Kamil - The Perfect Mentor by Umera Ahmed: book review

The Perfect Mentor pbuh  (2011) is set in Lahore and Islamabad in Pakistan. The novel commences with Imama Mubeen in medical university. She wants to be an eye specialist. Her parents have arranged for her to marry her first cousin Asjad. Salar Sikander, her neighbour, is 18 years old with an IQ of 150+ and a photographic memory. He has long hair tied in a ponytail. He imbibes alcohol, treats women disrespectfully and is generally a “weird chap” and a rude, belligerent teenager. In the past three years he has tried to commit suicide three times. He tries again. Imama and her brother, Waseem, answer the servant’s call to help Salar. They stop the bleeding from his wrist and save his life. Imama and Asjad have been engaged for three years, because she wants to finish her studies first. Imama is really delaying her marriage to Asjad because she loves Jalal Ansar. She proposes to him and he says yes. But he knows his parents won’t agree, nor will Imama’s parents. That

Flaws in the Glass, a self-portrait by Patrick White: book review

The manuscript, Flaws in the Glass (1981), is Patrick Victor Martindale White’s autobiography. White, born in 1912 in England, migrated to Sydney, Australia, when he was six months old. For three years, at the age of 20, he studied French and German literature at King’s College at the University of Cambridge in England. Throughout his life, he published 12 novels. In 1957 he won the inaugural Miles Franklin Literary Award for Voss, published in 1956. In 1961, Riders in the Chariot became a best-seller, winning the Miles Franklin Literary Award. In 1973, he was the first Australian author to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature for The Eye of the Storm, despite many critics describing his works as ‘un-Australian’ and himself as ‘Australia’s most unreadable novelist.’ In 1979, The Twyborn Affair was short-listed for the Booker Prize, but he withdrew it from the competition to give younger writers the opportunity to win the award. His autobiography, Flaws in the Glass

Sister cities discussed: Canberra and Islamabad

Two months ago, in March 2015, Australia and Pakistan agreed to explore ways to deepen ties. The relationship between Australia and Pakistan has been strong for decades, and the two countries continue to keep dialogues open. The annual bilateral discussions were held in Australia in March to continue engagements on a wide range of matters of mutual interest. The Pakistan delegation discussed points of interest will include sports, agriculture, economic growth, trade, border protection, business, and education. The possible twinning of the cities of Canberra, the capital of Australia, and Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, were also on the agenda (i.e. called twin towns or sister cities). Sister City relationships are twinning arrangements that build friendships as well as government, business, culture, and community linkages. Canberra currently has international Sister City relationships with Beijing in China and Nara in Japan. One example of existing