Formative research to guide strategic communication interventions

May 2010

FORMATIVE RESEARCH TO GUIDE STRATEGIC

COMMUNICATION INTERVENTIONS FOR CHILDREN IN

THE COTTON GROWING AREAS AND COTTON SEED

PRODUCING STATES

Final Report

Oxford Policy Management

Formative research on the Situation of Children Involved in Cotton Growing and Cotton Seed Producing States Final Report

ii May 2010

Executive Summary

Background

The rapid growth of the cotton sector in India – in particular the production of hybrid cotton seeds – has in recent years brought greater attention to children’s participation in the industry. Although cotton seed production is limited to a few highly concentrated centres of production (namely in Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Maharashtra), it is significant because of the overwhelming prevalence of child labour in this sector. Children are employed in biotechnology (Bt) cotton particularly during the highly labour-intensive phase of cross-pollination whereby each individual plant must be pollinated by hand during a limited 3-month period. While the patterns of child labour differ across states and districts, the type of households who choose to send their children to work are consistently the poorest and most vulnerable.

Given this context, child labour is increasingly becoming a cause for concern as it poses major risks to children’s education opportunities (both long term and short term) and to their overall developmental and health status. This is particularly true for children who migrate for work without any adult supervision, making them highly vulnerable to abuse and exploitation.

Purpose of the study and methodology

This report presents findings of a qualitative study on the knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) of children, families and communities towards child labour and education, specifically in cottonseed producing and cotton producing areas of India. This is one component of UNICEF’s broader approach to understanding and addressing child labour. The present research aims to:

• First, increase knowledge, understand the behaviour, practices, and patterns of child labour in cotton and cotton seed farming, and assess the impact of child labour on children, and on their families and the community,

• Second, map the social, cultural, political and economic support structures within the communities that inhibit or facilitate attitudinal changes among all stakeholders regarding child labour, and identifying the motivational triggers for attitudinal change.

The research findings will be used by UNICEF to help formulate focused communication strategies to raise awareness and empower families in preventing and reducing child labour.

The study used primary qualitative research focusing on participatory research methods in four states where cotton production is particularly high: Gujarat (Kutch district in the villages of Bhuwad and Samatra), Maharashtra (Jalna district in the villages of Chandai Ekko and Khadaki), Rajasthan (Udaipur district in the villages of Kharbar A and Khadakaya) and Tamil Nadu (Dharmapuri district in the village of Sitteri and Salem district in the village of Siruvarchur).1 This research included field visits, focus group discussions with labouring and non-labouring children, their parents, elders in their families, and opinion leaders, as well as in-depth interviews with key informants in villages and at district headquarters. It concluded

1 Henceforth the research areas in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu are referred to simply by the names of these states. This should not be taken to imply a generalisation to each state as a whole.


iii May 2010

with district and village-level workshops with research participants and other stakeholders to discuss findings.

Fieldwork was carried out in cotton seed and cotton producing areas (in Gujarat, Maharashtra, and one district of Tamil Nadu), and in areas (in Rajasthan and another district of Tamil Nadu) from where children migrate to work in cotton. Although Bt cotton production in much of Gujarat and Tamil Nadu is managed by cotton companies that have contracts with farmers for seed sales and purchases that usually ban using child labour, the three month cross-pollination is usually conducted by local and migrant children. In Maharashtra, child work in cotton production more commonly takes place on children’s households’ own farms. While child work in cotton was a focus, fieldwork and the communication strategies also considered paid child labour in other agricultural operations (planting, weeding and harvesting) and in other sectors, and children’s work on families’ own farms and domestic work in households.

The study uses a conceptual framework with the following key features. Every child (under 18) spends time on a combination of work (paid work or unpaid household or own farm work), school or leisure. Following UNICEF’s and the ILO’s definitions, child labour takes place when children spend more than a certain proportion (depending on age) of their time working (whether in domestic or paid work), or are missing school and other developmental benefits, or are engaged in hazardous work. Children and their parents or guardians decide the time-use for each child to maximise the well-being of the child and the household. However, not all household members agree on whose well-being to prioritise or how to maximise well-being, and eventual time-use for each child depends on bargaining power within the household. Decision-makers calculate trade-offs between work, school and leisure use for each child depending on the expected current and future benefits and costs of each, and social norms around work and school. These decisions are made subject to the eventual time-use allocation satisfying the overall subsistence needs of the household and any external obligations (such as debt).

Key findings

Children’s time use choices Children’s time use (between work, school, and play) in study areas is underlain by three trends. First, within the same household children will work and attend school. Most households send some children to school and some to work (often with one group paying for the other). Households are not monolithic entities that are either for or against schooling: families make decisions on whether to send children to work or school based on practical constraints and opportunities. Second, children usually combine work and school. Most children who work at home, in family farms, or for payment, also attend school. However, children who work very regularly (or who regularly miss a three month period for cotton cross-pollination), particularly if they migrate for work, start having such low attendance that they are not allowed into school any longer. Very few children attend school and do not work. Third, while work and school are close substitutes, play is not, in the sense that children who reduce their time spent in school will instead increase their time spent at work, not at play.

Decision-makers within the household Bargaining power is defined as the extent to which parties are able to negotiate an outcome that best fits their preferences (maximises their utility). Children are often assumed to have zero bargaining power, with their parents making all decisions on their behalf. However, field research indicates a more complex picture. While adult males were predominantly the


iv May 2010

principal decision-makers, other household members (including children) are decision-makers in some households and situations, varying depending on the household’s cultural background and economic status, and by research area. Generally, where parents and children disagree about work/school allocation, parents usually prevail. In tribal areas of Rajasthan, however, children sometimes decide to travel to work even if their parents protest.

Household preferences and budget constraints On what basis are decisions to send children to work or school made? Respondents identified positive returns to both work and education, which partly explains the mixed time-use identified above. The mix of work and education for each child depends on trade-offs between these returns. Despite some negative consequences, work remains a priority where household incomes cannot satisfy their needs.

Principally, households report sending children to work in order to cover household subsistence, input and asset needs in the context of generalised household poverty. Low adult incomes and poor labour opportunities for adults meant that families often feel they ‘have no choice’ but to send their children to work. In addition, small-scale agricultural production (as small-holder, tenant or sharecropper) in these areas generates debt (to cover input costs) on unfavourable terms in the absence of credit and insurance markets. Children were often required to work either to pay off loans or as part of the repayment terms.

In addition, however, child work was felt by some to confer benefits on the children: teaching children skills that enhance their future productivity and employability, helping children learn to be independent, and increasing girls’ value in the marriage market. Some children reported enjoying work, in particular the level of freedom when they are away from home with friends.

Most respondents noted that meeting income needs and conferring developmental benefits trade off with negative consequences of child work. While surprisingly little mention was made of the harms and dangers during work itself, respondents expressed concerns for the well-being of children who migrated away from home. Laws and (cotton seed) contracts banning child labour provide an inadequate deterrent. They are easily circumvented by children and employers who are sophisticated at avoiding detection, government regulators lack enforcement mechanisms, and government and seed companies rarely appear to prioritise enforcement in this difficult context (perhaps also aware that simply outlawing child work would have negative effects on many households’ welfare). Most importantly, however, child work (particularly in paid work outside the village) constrained children’s ability to attend school regularly or at all.

Most respondents thought children should attend education, for several reasons that mirror positive returns to work. First, and most significantly by far, education was felt to have positive economic returns, in terms of better employment opportunities, productivity and future earnings. However, these returns were limited by segmented labour markets (where marginalised tribals, for instance, have unequal access to jobs), and because job prospects only improve with attaining higher levels of education (not just with more years of education). Second, education confers social and developmental benefits for the child: greater independence, such as the ability to read sign boards and documents, and the ability to negotiate with more powerful people in society. Third, the vast majority of children liked being at school mainly because it offered activities (sports, teaching, singing, prayer, etc.) and was immediately enjoyable (being with friends, learning, getting food, etc), rather than because they believed it would have long-term benefits.


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However, while education in general and some schools in particular were viewed positively by parents and children, various factors limit these benefits. First, some children’s economic returns to education are felt to be lower than others, because they are felt to have lower aptitude for schooling, indicated by failure. Many parents and children are therefore less inclined to send children who fail (for whatever reason, be it aptitude, teacher performance, or non-attendance) to school, and correspondingly more inclined to send them to work. Second, perceptions of economic returns to education were lowest amongst less well educated parents and parents from marginalised, tribal and lower caste groups. This is partly because labour markets are unfavourable to them, and partly because their children are often discriminated against in school. Third, economic and development returns and immediate well-being are limited by low school and teacher accessibility and quality. Complaints across the four states by both parents and children included difficult and costly access, absentee teachers, lack of toilets, and beatings.

Cutting across an assessment of household needs and trade-offs is the role of historical norms, ‘transient norms’ and rights. Historical norms affect households’ views of whether children ‘should’ work, because that is ‘what children in this group do’. This certainly operated in some households, especially migrant labourers such as the Bhagiyas in Gujarat. Transient norms (such as peer group pressure and herd behaviour) more usually affected children, usually creating a consensus around the prospect of work, particularly away from home. Few respondents, by contrast, were familiar with the concept of rights and none of them reported rights as playing any role in the decision making process.

High risk groups Child labour prevalence and risk is intensified amongst specific groups that merit special attention.

Girls often have the lowest allocation of school in their time-use, with high burdens of domestic work adding to their responsibilities on farms and in paid work. This is despite some awareness amongst parents of the high risks to which they are exposed, particularly when they migrate for work. However, these risks are offset by lower perceived returns to schooling for girls in the labour market and sometimes negative returns in the marriage market, and higher perceived returns to work (largely domestic but also paid) in the marriage market. In some areas, such as Maharashtra, moreover, girls are expected to do particular tasks (e.g. cotton picking is women’s work).

Research areas were principally in tribal communities, where children had high work participation rates. The high child labour prevalence amongst these communities reflects the marginalisation of these communities in society and the polity. It is partly explained by their high levels of poverty, their entanglement in extremely exploitative agricultural socio-economic relations that generate annual debt cycles, their adverse participation in adult labour markets, the frequently poor provision of schooling in these areas and the discrimination against tribal children in schooling. These factors lower returns to schooling and raise returns to work. In addition, this adversity sustains and is partly sustained by community norms that support child work and accord a low priority to schooling. These norms (and child labour) are particularly strong in specific social groups, such as the Bhagiyas in Gujarat, whose livelihood is based on family migration for agricultural work.

Table 1.1 below sets out some of the main KAP issues around the decision making process described above.


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Table 1.1 KAP issues around the decision to send ch ildren to work and decisions to send children to school

DECISION TO WORK

Audience Knowledge Attitude Practice

Sending children to work guarantees additional income to the household and can also serve as a debt management strategy.

There is no other viable choice

Parents choose to send their children to work if they are economically constrained. When they do so, they tend to keep some children in school and only send low-performing children to work.

Work can teach useful skills for the future. Women who work will be appreciated by future husbands

Parents would prefer to send their children to school if they could, but did not feel school always provides as useful a skill set for the future.

In areas with undeveloped labour markets where opportunities for educated labourers are few, parents prefer their children to learn manual labour skills at an early stage.

Parents and elders

When children work away from home they learn bad habits and (girls especially) can face dangerous situations

Work in general (and on family farms) was not considered particularly harmful, though most respondents were aware of its dangers. Work away from home was perceived negatively.

When they can, parents avoid sending their children to work away from home.

Children Parents need additional support to help sustain the family

Work can be fun if it is done with friends, away from home. It can also be useful to learn skills. However, all in all children said they would prefer not to work if they had a choice, and realised they had to work because of their parents’ economic situation.

Children work in different degrees, according to household needs. Some only work during holidays and in the evenings, others drop out of school in order to migrate for work (see previous section for details)

Secondary audiences 2

Work has a negative impact on child development and is banned by national laws.

Work is harmful to the child Attempts to enforce laws around child labour

DECISION TO GO TO SCHOOL

Failing in school is an indicator of bad performance

Children who fail are never going to reap the future benefits of schooling

If a child fails in school he is taken out of school

Education can get children better jobs. However, this is true mostly for higher education which comes at a higher cost

Mistrust that this applies to all children, especially given labour constraints on local markets

Children are only kept in school if this is financially viable and if job opportunities for parents are available locally

An educated child can read and write This can help them to manage more powerful members of society and everyday situations (knowing rights, reading documents, billboards), gaining independence and learning good habits).

Children kept in school if they have something to show for it (i.e. they are learning applicable skills)

Parents and elders

Schools are distant and/or badly equipped

It is not worthwhile sending children to school (it is too costly/it is useless)

Children are made to drop out of school, especially upon completion of the primary cycle (where schools are more widely available).

Schools often lack basic services such as classrooms, teachers and toilets

Sub-standard schools are not worthwhile the effort

Children choose to drop out of school

Quality of teaching can be extremely low. This includes bad/no teaching and beating on behalf of teachers

School is not instructive/fun. Teachers are scary and unreasonable.


Children

In school one can play games, sports, learn, sing songs, have friends

School can be fun Children want to stay in school

Secondary audiences

Schools are under-equipped, problems of access and teacher quality

Families make their decisions under practical constraints (lack of employment opportunities, low wages, family debt combined with poverty, cost of schooling, distance from school, availability of schools, etc), not because they are not aware of the potential benefits of schooling

Practical constraints should be solved before forcing all children to go to school.

2 “Secondary” audience refers to: Teachers, Anganwadi workers, NGO workers in the communities and/or district, formal and informal group members, government staff in districts, Child Rights Units, Elected representatives in communities, District level Anti-trafficking and Child Labour committee members, Media representatives, Judiciary Members, and Employers (mostly farmers and ginning mill owners)


vii May 2010

Policy context: awareness and access to public sche mes

An analysis of schemes, policies and laws around child labour and education in the research areas shows that most communities are at best vaguely aware of schemes and laws relating to child labour. People tend to be aware of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) and the Public Distribution System (PDS), and both have a clear impact on the decision to send children to work (as they raise household incomes and influence the price of adult labour). However, knowledge of public schemes and subsidies is determined both by local context and political leadership and by households’ socio-economic characteristics, with the poorest and most marginalised households being almost completely cut off from information. Moreover, respondents’ views of government schemes were mostly negative and critical. People were discouraged from participating in schemes for very practical reasons, many of them related to loss of trust in public institutions (including long and un-transparent application processes, feeling of injustice/corruption, mistrust of eligibility criteria, failed attempts in the past, and unpredictability of resources).

Communications strategies

Principles for communication strategies First, people preferred to listen to others from the same social background, and to those who allow them to speak out. This implies that communication strategies could work through local role models who can inspire children and adults as to the practical long-term benefits of education (note that a high level of trustworthiness was attributed to local educated people by all respondents). Behavioural change would be best attempted through personal engagement that allows an equal conversation, perhaps through ‘dedicated individuals’ (charismatic personalities or champions). It is worth spending time individuating authorities/people who can become motors of change in local communities rather than focusing all energies on mass campaigns.

Second, different age groups and social groups need to be targeted in different ways. For instance, children (particularly labouring children) tended to have limited aspirations for their lives and schools (‘improve what you have rather than ask for something different/new’), which reduced the importance they placed on future benefits. Communication strategies could help them think ‘outside the box’, for instance demanding better schooling, or discovering ways in which school can be made fun, or thinking about changes to their activities within the village to enjoy themselves and learn more. Adults’ knowledge of and attitudes to the benefits of work and school appeared to be strongly determined by levels of education, implying a need to target illiterate households specifically.

Third, the space in which communication takes place is important. Fieldwork indicated a lack of a neutral physical space in villages where information is widely shared, with most information flowing through hierarchical village structures which often exclude the marginalised. Research suggested that schools could become places where adults are also invited, where a room is created for bill-board, posters, and exchanges of knowledge.

Fourth, sustained engagement will be required to engender lasting change in behaviours and attitudes. Families rarely decide to send children to work without careful consideration, and they are usually well aware of the costs and benefits of child work. There are therefore no easy ‘quick wins’ in changing behaviour by simply improving information sets. Changing the household decision-making factors that are tractable through a communications approach,


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such as social norms, power relations within a household, and social payoffs (such as valuing work experience in marriage), will require long-term and careful engagement with communities.

Fifth, communication campaigns to meet needs of specific high-risk groups and/or subgroups in the community would be useful, given that the data indicate that the patterns and contexts of child labour vary considerably from district to district. The issue of child labour is complex and will require multiple interventions that are synergized. One of the key issues at the district level is to identify villages and groups where the practice of child labour is prevalent. In the research areas, child labour was very prevalent, and particularly so among specific, high risk/vulnerable communities (such as the Bhagiyas in Gujarat). On-going community based interventions would be necessary in these “pockets” where child labour exists.

Suggested outlines of a communications strategy Following from the nature of child labour in these areas and these principles, a communications strategy to reduce child labour should revolve around behaviour-focussed programming. Across a putative three-year time frame, the three proposed overarching strategies are: (1) mass media at district/state level, (2) community level mobilization and (3) household and community level communication inputs. Each of these overarching strategies would have detailed operational guidelines in a communication strategy document. Each of the broad strategies would be considerably strengthened if implemented synergistically and simultaneously.

Issues for strategies Two types of interventions to reduce child labour are possible, and communication strategies could play a role in both. First, interventions that aim to change key ‘structural’ drivers of the trade-offs between child work and education, such as low household incomes, adult labour opportunities, debt, or poor school quality or accessibility. Second, interventions that aim to affect decision-makers’ perceptions of these trade-offs (through broadening their information set or influence their attitude towards information) or the social bases for these trade-offs (such as norms). Both types of interventions are proposed, but specific communications interventions are explored in more detail.

Whilst altering structural factors requires a broad policy response, communication strategies can play a key role through policy advocacy to improve policy implementation at various levels. Structural factors that can be addressed through policy advocacy include: (a) subsistence needs: households unable to provide adequate food to sustain the family through adult labour can lead to children working rather than attending school; (b) local labour market constraints: scarce and segmented labour markets reduce adult incomes and returns to schooling, and highly seasonal agricultural labour markets in cotton seed specifically, require child workers to miss school during term-time; (c) unavailability of credit markets: drives families to rely on informal loans and advances, often putting them in debt and compelling them to send children to work; (d) lack of schools and secondary schools in particular, or lack of free transport constrains children from attending school; (e) lack of adequate facilities, specially toilets, drinking water and sufficient classrooms does not motivate children to go to school or parents to send them; (f) indirect cost of schooling (buying uniforms, notebooks, etc), particularly significant for secondary schooling is a major economic constraint to schooling; (g) quality of schooling: due to lack of teachers and lack of teacher motivation and monitoring has a negative influence on motivating schooling; (h) weak implementation of sanctions for child work and non-attendance; and (i) the absence in some areas of adequate support for children of migrant families, who work with their families in fields and are often left out of the formal education system.


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A communications strategy could approach these structural factors through advocacy campaigns that are based on a rights approach. At a high, centralized level, this could involve support to policy formulation (by stressing links between policy options and the reduction of child labour); resource allocation (advocacy to ensure adequate funding is allocated to structural interventions); budget execution and programme implementation (helping to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of current strategies, such as the NREGA), and; evaluation (make sure that programme’s include indicators on child labour within their evaluation framework). At a lower, localized level it would involve changing the behaviour of officials and creating a conducive local environment. The campaigns could include attempts to 1) increase communities’ knowledge about schemes, laws and policies, 2) improve the local environment for implementation, and 3) create community pressure to demand rights.

Communication strategies can play a larger role in the second type of intervention through persuasive campaigns to broaden knowledge and influence attitudes by working closely with parents, children, teachers, and leaders. Factors that can be influenced/altered by persuasive campaigns therefore include: (a) when decision-makers face information asymmetries about tradeoffs, pushing them to choose work when they would chose school if they had full information. For example, decision-makers may be pushing children to work because they are not be able to fully assess the productivity benefits of school (especially for girls), or the well-being benefits of leisure, or the harm caused by child labour; (b) when decision-makers are influenced by social norms: for example, when they perceive higher social benefits of girls working because girls are more attractive in the marriage market after work or when the importance of dowries is overvalued; (c) when short-term benefits are weighted strongly relative to long-term benefits: for example, children generally consider both work and school to have benefits in terms of immediate wellbeing but do not place much emphasis on long-term benefits of school; (d) when decision-makers are unsure about whether school or work confers developmental benefits and (e) when members of the household who would prefer more schooling (often mothers and children) are marginalised in intra-household bargaining processes.

Figure 1.1 gives an overall view of the household decision making process, highlighting the various levels that affect the final outcome of whether a child is sent to school or work and showing possible entry points for communications strategies. It indicates that there are many factors affecting the child labour decision, and only some of these factors are amenable to change via communications approaches. At the ‘macro’ level, these factors include the education environment, labour markets, prices, and the legal and policy framework. Communications approaches can play a role in influencing the formulation and implementation of policy and laws, and in influencing consumers to boycott products produced by child labour. The ‘meso’ level refers principally to community-level factors, such as the existence and quality of schools in the community, local power dynamics, local provision of schemes and law enforcement, and prevailing social norms. Communications strategies again play a role in effective implementation, and may be able to affect power dynamics, but more effectively working with communities to understand, assess and influence norms around child work and school. At the micro-level among households and individuals, communication strategies can attempt to affect households’ and individuals’ knowledge of and attitudes to child labour and school.


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Figure 1.1 The household decision-making process ar ound child labour and around education

Nature of family, society, community,

culture (historical and transient norms; rights)

Access to protective legal environment

Accessibility of pro-poor public services

(schools, health centres, etc) and

schemes

Local labour supply and demand; local wages

and opportunities

Local power structures and leadership

Political priority attached to achieving results for children & public sector capacity

Quality and availability

of schools and teachers (primary and secondary

level)

Social protection strategy (effective policies,

schemes and interventions to relieve

poverty)

Legal background (laws

on child labour, etc)

Economic incentives for cotton and cotton

seed farmers (international prices,

etc)

Dynamics of rural and urban labour markets MACRO

Cost of accessing public services and

schemes MESO

Household’s socio-economic vulnerability (including caste, etc)

Knowledge and attitudes of household

(ex. awareness of schemes; perception of

harmfulness of child labour, etc)

Household choice on trade -offs between work and schooling (affected by intra-

household bargaining process)

Educational level of other household

members

Number of able-bodied household members capable of fulfilling

labour needs

Adequacy of livelihoods/income; capacity to sustain family food needs

Household children’s aptitudes for schooling (ex. failure in school)

MICRO

= possibility of communication strategy


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Table of contents

Executive Summary ii

Acknowledgements xiv

Abbreviations xv

1 Introduction 17 1.1 Purpose and structure of report 17 1.2 Conceptual framework 18 1.3 Research questions 26

2 Methodology 29 2.1 Overview 29 2.2 Primary target audience 29 2.3 Secondary target audience 31 2.4 Workshops 32 2.5 Limitations 32

3 Introduction to the research areas 33 3.1 Broad district level trends 33 3.2 Study villages 34

4 Child labour and education practices 42 4.1 Comparative analysis of practices in work and schooling 42 4.2 Detailed description of practices in study villages 53

5 Understanding the household decision making process on child work and schooling63 5.1 Who makes decisions? 63 5.2 Decisions over child work 66 5.3 Decisions over children’s education 79 5.4 The role of social norms 109

6 Schemes and policy 112 6.1 What schemes are running? 112 6.2 Knowledge and awareness of schemes 113 6.3 Access to schemes 122

7 Changing policy: proposed improvements to work, schooling and schemes 126 7.1 Ideas by theme 126 7.2 Ideas by audience 135

8 Sources of information: who is credible? 137 8.1 Primary audiences’ views 137 8.2 Secondary audiences’ view 143 8.3 Conclusions: who to target and how 146

9 Implications for communications strategies 148 9.1 Introduction and overview 148 9.2 Structural factors: understanding the main constraints 151 9.3 Non-structural factors: need for persuasive campaigns 154


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9.4 Messages for specific groups 168 9.5 The role of social norms and rights 170 9.6 Strengthening networks 173 9.7 Types of strategies 173 9.8 Short term & Long term Communication Strategy at the District Level 177

Annex A Methodological annex 178 A.1 Sample districts 178 A.2 Timing 179 A.3 Limitations 180 A.4 Village selection and justification 183 A.5 Activities conducted 184

Annex B Methodological annex 193 B.1 Approach to participatory research and interviews 193

Annex C State level overview 199 C.1 Overview of cotton/cottonseed production and growth in research states 199 C.2 Trends in child labour in research states 200

List of tables

Table 1.1 KAP issues around the decision to send children to work and decisions to send children to school vi

Table 3.2 Salient Features of Selected Villages 34 Table 3.3 Comparative Social Background of Samatra and Bhuwad 37 Table 3.4 Sitteri village, population overview 38 Table 3.5 Sitteri: status, by caste 39 Table 3.6 Puttur village, population overview 39 Table 3.7 Village Social & Economic Characteristics: Chandai Ekko and Khadaki 41 Table 4.8 Gender parity in enrolment data 48 Table 4.9 Child labour practices in different states 49 Table 4.10 Middle schools in Rajasthan 58 Table 5.11 Children’s views on why others work 73 Table 5.12 Children’s views on schooling - positives 87 Table 5.13 Children’s views on schooling – factors discouraging attendance 94 Table 5.14 Views on school quality, primary audience (adults) 100 Table 6.15 Knowledge and access to schemes 115 Table 6.1 Awareness of laws and rights on child labour 120 Table 7.2 Suggested changes to schooling, primary audience 131 Table 9.3 Factors Associated with Child Labour 148 Table 9.4 Strategies to affect views of tradeoffs between income and school 155 Table 9.5 Strategies to affect views around developmental benefits 157 Table 9.6 Strategies to affect views around social benefits 159 Table 9.7 Strategies to affect views of well-being benefits 161 Table 9.8 Strategies to affect views of penalties 162 Table 9.9 Strategies to affect households’ income constraints 163 Table 9.10 Strategies to improve the quality of education 165 Table 9.11 Strategies to prevent children who fail from dropping out of school 167 Table 9.12 Strategies to work with employers 170


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Table 9.13 Strategies to affect social norms 171 Table 9.14 Strategies to affect perception of rights 172 Table 9.15 Networks by audience 173 Table 9.16 Example communication techniques in high risk area (Kachchh) 176 Table 9.17 Groups 186 Table 9.18 Interviews 186 Table 9.19 Interviews in district headquarters 187 Table 9.20 District workshop 187 Table 9.21 Groups 189 Table 9.22 Interviews in villages 190 Table 9.23 Interviews in district headquarters – 191 Table 9.24 District workshop 191

List of figures

Figure 1.1 The household decision-making process around child labour and around education x

Figure 4.2 ‘My Day’ activity, Chandai, Maharashtra 61 Figure 5.3 Views on work, child non labourers (girls), Chandai village 72 Figure 5.4 Views of schooling, child labourers (girls), Bhuwad village 86 Figure 8.5 Credible source diagram, child non labourers’ fathers, Chandai Ekko

(Maharashtra) 142 Figure 9.6 Campaign Strategy 175

List of boxes

Box 1.1 The policy cycle and policy entry points 26 Box 4.2 Understanding differences in Cotton Production and Cottonseed Production 44 Box 4.3 Summary in terms of Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices: Comparative

analysis of practices in work and schooling 52 Box 4.4 The Chusia 54 Box 4.5 Summary in terms of Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices: Detailed description

of practices in study areas 62 Box 5.6 Summary in terms of Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices: Decisions over

child work 77 Box 5.7 Migrants’ exclusion from education: the Bhagiyas in Samatra 92 Box 5.8 Summary in terms of Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices: Decisions over

children’s education 106 Box 6.9 Summary in terms of Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices: Awareness of

schemes and policy 118 Box 6.10 What factors encourage and discourage uptake of schemes? 125 Box 7.11 Improving education: summary of proposed solutions 130


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Acknowledgements

This study was commissioned by UNICEF India and carried out by a research team managed by Oxford Policy Management’s Delhi and Oxford offices. Many thanks are due to the large number of individuals involved in the research.

A particular debt of gratitude is due to the primary researchers in each state (state team leaders and facilitators) who generated the data used to write the report in research conditions that were often extremely challenging, given the politicised and sensitive nature of the subject. Should this report contribute to improvements in the lives of children in India, it is these individuals who should take the credit. These individuals are Davuluri Venkateswarlu, D Kathirvel, RVSS Ramakrishna (Tamil Nadu), Ashok Khandelwal, Madhulika Laxmiganesh, Rina Parmar, Amit Sharma, Bipin Parmar, Sendhabhai, Varsha Ganguly (Gujarat and Rajasthan), Anjali Kulkarni, Priya Bhosale and Vandana Piske (Maharashtra).

The research was coordinated by Gitanjali Pande, with assistance from Sreela Das Gupta.

Many thanks are due to Nandita Kapadia-Kundu for guidance and peer review around the communication strategy methodology, analysis and write up. Thanks are also due to Priyanka Singh for assistance with fieldwork in Rajasthan, and to Tom O’Keeffe, Savina Tessitore, Neha Kumra and Yashodhan Ghorpade for assistance in data analysis and compilation, and to Sabine Garbarino for peer reviewing an earlier draft of the report.

Thanks are also due to those many individuals in UNICEF India’s country and state offices who provided helpful comments on the research methodology and on earlier drafts of this report. Thanks in particular to Anu Puri and Kiki Van Kessel in the UNICEF India Country Office for coordinating the study.

The report was written by Valentina Barca, Ian MacAuslan, Gitanjali Pande, and Emily Wylde.

Most important, however, are thanks due to the many individuals who participated in the research, by giving their views and opinions and taking the time to talk to researchers. It is hoped that their efforts will be repaid by this report and any consequences.


xv May 2010

Abbreviations

APL Above Poverty Line

AAY Antyodaya Anna Yojana

AWW Anganwadi worker

BC Backward Caste

BPL Below Poverty Line

Bt Biotechnology

CLG Community Liaison Group

CP Cotton Production

CSP Cotton Seed Production

CSO Civil Society Organisation

FGD Focus Group Discussion

KAP Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice

KII Key Informant Interview

IAY Indira Awaas Yojana

ICDS Integrated Child Development Services

ILO International Labour Office

NCLP National Child Labour Project

NRHM National Rural Health Mission

MDM Mid Day Meal

MLA Member of the Legislative Assembly

MNCs Multinational Companies

MP Member of Parliament

NCLP National Child Labour Project

NGO Non Government Organisation

NREGS National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme

NRI Non Resident Indian


xvi May 2010

OBC Other Backward Caste

OPM Oxford Policy Management

PDS Public Distribution System

PTA Parent Teacher Association

RTE Right to Education

SC Scheduled Caste

SDMC School Development and Management Committee

SSA Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan

ST Scheduled Tribe

TOR Terms of Reference

UNICEF United Nations Children’s Fund

VEC Village Education Committee


17 May 2010

1 Introduction

1.1 Purpose and structure of report

This report sets out findings of a qualitative study on the knowledge, attitudes and practice (KAP) of children, families and communities towards child labour and education in cottonseed producing and cotton producing areas of India. The study is part of UNICEF’s broader approach to child labour in cotton producing and cottonseed growing areas that, in addition to this report, includes a desk study and a quantitative baseline, all of which will inform a communications strategy around child labour. This research aims to:

• First, increase knowledge, understand the behaviour, practices, and patterns of child labour in cotton and cotton seed farming, and assess the impact of child labour on children, and on their families and the community,

• Second, map the social, cultural, political and economic support structures within the communities that inhibit or facilitate attitudinal changes among all stakeholders regarding child labour, and identifying the motivational triggers for attitudinal change.

Research findings will be used by UNICEF to help formulate focused communication strategies to raise awareness and empower families in preventing and reducing child labour.

The study involved conducting primary research in four states where cotton production is particularly high: Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu.3 This research included

• focus group discussions with labouring and non-labouring children, their parents, elders in their families, and opinion leaders (primary audience);

• in-depth interviews with key informants in villages and at district headquarters (secondary audience); and

• workshops with research participants and other stakeholders to discuss findings.

The study sought broadly to understand the factors underlying decisions to send children to work rather than to school, and how these factors might be influenced by a communication strategy. It aimed to achieve this by asking research participants for their views on reasons for and against attending school and working; policies and laws related to child labour and education; ways of encouraging more children to attend school; and credible sources of information in their communities, particularly on child labour and education.

This report argues that something as complex as child labour needs to be understood and analysed within the wider economic context facing households and villages, and that there are no “magic bullets” or simple answers to addressing child labour. It starts from the premise that individuals do not deliberately make choices that leave them or their households worse off. This implies that in most circumstances children do not work unless those making the decision think this is the best course of action for the child or the

3 Gujarat: District Kutch; Villages: Bhuwad and Samatra

Maharashtra: District Jalna; Villages: Chandai Ekko and Khadaki

Rajasthan: District Udaipur; Villages: Kharbar A and Khadakaya

Tamil Nadu: District Dharmapuri & Village: Sitteri; District Salem & Village Siruvarchur


18 May 2010

household. Children and adults make decisions about children’s work and school subject to a range of factors that are very often beyond their control.

This has some important implications for a communications approach. There are very strong limitations on the types of household decisions that can be changed through communication, given the wider structural factors that also influence household behaviours and decisions to send children to work or school. These factors can be addressed only through influencing the policy debate. The research suggests that there are essentially two areas in which communication strategies are likely to be most appropriate and effective. The first is in addressing informational asymmetries, where for example households do not have accurate information on the trade-offs between schooling, work, and children’s well-being. Second, where households already have accurate information – and are already making the best decisions they can – communications strategies are likely to be more effective if targeted instead at higher-level policy advocacy to reduce poverty and improve the supply of education. As will be articulated in detail throughout the report, the key point is to understand the constraints households face and the rationale behind their decisions so that any communications strategies developed will be realistic and appropriate.

In order to outline these implications in more detail, the rest of the report is structured as follows:

• The rest of this chapter outlines the conceptual framework

• Based on this conceptual understanding, Chapter 2 presents the methodological approach employed.

• Chapter 3 gives a brief overview of the districts and villages that were chosen for this study, in order to contextualise the findings that are presented in the rest of the report.

• Chapter 4 presents a summary of the findings on child labour and education practices in the different research areas, drawing out differences between the villages and districts where appropriate.

• Chapter 5 explores the decision for children to work, school or play in more detail, including a look at who makes this decision and why.

• Chapter 6 turns to a more detailed analysis of schemes, policies and laws around child labour and education in the research areas. It sets out the schemes operating in different communities, and communities’ knowledge and perceptions of these schemes, policies and laws.

• The report concludes with Chapters 7 and 8, which analyse issues of policy change, identifying interventions that could improve the current situation and the implications for potential communications strategies.

1.2 Conceptual framework

This section briefly sets out the conceptual framework used in this study. It first presents definitions of child labour and child work, and then discusses the causes and nature of child labour and child work, particularly in relation to education, adult labour, and other household characteristics. This section is deliberately brief; for more details see OPM (2009) Child labour desk study.

Who is a child? The present study largely ignores the debate about the age at which a child becomes an adult, and assumes in line with international law and convention (including the Convention on the Rights of the Child) that a child is below the age of 18. However, the legal framework


19 May 2010

around children’s work in India is complex and fragmented, with individuals able to work in different sectors for different amounts of time at different ages. For example, while education is free and compulsory for all children up to the age of 14, and children below 14 are prohibited from working in various occupations by the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986, children below 14 may legally work in agriculture for up to 6 hours a day. Children may also work in family workshops, and there is no minimum working age for occupations not specified in the 1986 Act.

Against this complex legal landscape, the study proposes a definition of child labour that recognises a distinction between child work and child labour. Fyfe (1989, cited in Mukherjee et al 2005) separates child work (any physical or mental involvement in a family or social activity) from child labour (only that work which ‘impairs the health and development of children’). For example, looking after siblings at weekends or in the evening is child work, provided it does not interfere with schooling, where working on the family farm during school hours is child labour because it impairs the development of a child (by forcing them to miss school). While UNICEF define child labour as work that exceeds a minimum number of hours, depending on the age of a child and on the type of work,4 given the difficulty involved in such a precise categorisation in participatory research, the present study follows the International Labour Organisation who define child labour less precisely as work undertaken by anyone under the age of 18 that

• is mentally, physically, socially or morally dangerous and harmful to children; and

• interferes with their schooling by: - depriving them of the opportunity to attend school; - obliging them to leave school prematurely; or - requiring them to attempt to combine school attendance with excessively long

and heavy work. Although these two definitions are broadly consistent, the more flexible approach of the ILO is appropriate in the absence of adequate time-use data with which to formally categorise children as per UNICEF’s definition.

Understanding household decisions on child work and schooling Decisions over child work and schooling are based on preferences (for education, child leisure, and other consumption goods) and on household budget constraints. This is based on the premise that households (or at least individuals within households) make the best decisions they can for themselves and other members of the household based on the information they have available and their budget constraints. In other words, they act rationally given their circumstances.

Each child in a household divides their time between school, work and leisure (ignoring sleeping, eating and personal hygiene). Most children pursue a mix. This section attempts to understand how that mix is determined for each child and across the household as a whole. It therefore addresses the key factors influencing household preferences, the bargaining power of different members of the household (determining whose preferences matter), the budget constraint, and the role of vulnerability.

4 “Ages 5-11: At least one hour of economic work or 28 hours of domestic work per week. Ages 12-14: At least 14 hours of economic work or 28 hours of domestic work per week. Ages 15-17: At least 43 hours of economic or domestic work per week.” Downloaded from http://www.unicef.org/protection/index_childlabour.html


20 May 2010

Household preferences Preferences for schooling, leisure, and work indicate how a household chooses to balance the trade-offs between consumption of education, other goods and services, and leisure time. These are influenced by several factors, including most importantly:

� Perceived returns to children’s education: The value of education in the long term is generally measured in terms of the additional earnings that children will earn as adults as a result of a given amount of schooling. This is obviously highly dependent on the quality of education that is provided as well as the nature of the adult labour market (i.e. what kinds of jobs are available, what kinds of skills are required to obtain higher-paying jobs or to be more successful in farming or running a business). In the Indian context, where labour markets are highly segmented based on caste, class, and other forms of social discrimination, parents will no doubt take these factors into consideration when they assess the likelihood of their children’s future employment prospects; parents from Scheduled Caste (SC)/Scheduled Tribe (ST) backgrounds may (often rightly) conclude that even with an education their children will be denied high-paying jobs. Labour markets are also extremely segmented by gender, and parents will take into consideration the relative earning power of girls and boys as well as the gendered roles and responsibilities for old-age care; in patrilineal and patrilocal societies, investments in girls is considered less valuable as they are considered to be ‘lost’ upon marriage when girls leave their parental homes and become part of their husband’s household. By contrast, boys – especially the eldest – are expected to care for their parents in old age. Finally, parents and children will also assess the value of schooling based on an individual child’s aptitude for or enjoyment of learning and other individual characteristics (such as illness or disability).

Parents are therefore making their decisions based on the best information they have available to them regarding the future returns to children’s education. However it is important to note that such information can be inaccurate, particularly where labour markets are changing quickly or where there are opportunities of which parents may be unaware. Whether parents themselves are educated will often have a major impact on preferences for their children’s education, partly because educated parents will have better information on their children’s increased earnings potential as a result of schooling, but also because they are likely to place a higher value on education for its own sake.

� Utility from consumption of other goods: Balancing these preferences for education are a household’s preferences for other consumption goods, whether basic subsistence or luxury items. Many of the standard economic models of child labour assume that households have a preference for education over other goods once their basic subsistence needs (food, shelter, etc) are met5. It is important to note that parents’ preferences also include their own preferences for their children’s consumption, or in other words a sense of altruism; parents are assumed to gain satisfaction from their children’s consumption as well as their own. The balance for parents between their own consumption versus their children’s will vary across individuals; some studies have shown mothers are more likely to spend money on their children while fathers may be more likely to prefer to spend on their own consumption. This is however not always proven empirically, so it is important not to make too many assumptions about gendered preferences for children’s consumption.

5 See for example Basu and Van (1999), where this is known as the luxury axiom.


21 May 2010

� Discount rates: Although some benefits of schooling will be felt immediately (for example the ability to read and write), the returns to schooling are generally measured over the course of their lifetimes in terms of increased earning potential. How these long-term benefits are valued will depend on the discount rate households assign to them. Poorer households generally have a much higher discount rate since their immediate needs for survival are weighted more heavily than any potential benefits from schooling in the longer term.

� Perceived benefits and harm of child work: As with schooling, child work is generally seen to have positive impacts beyond any immediate earnings, in terms skill and character building. These include learning a trade which will be useful for employment in future (whether in agriculture or manufacturing) and for girls it includes knowledge of domestic skills that are considered important (and valuable) in the marriage market such as how to cook, clean, and take care of children. On the other hand, there may be perceptions related to immediate harm to children from certain kinds of work, for example from exposure to pesticides, dangerous machinery, or abuse (especially for girls).

� Social norms, awareness of rights, and sanctions : The role of social norms in determining the relative value of school and work is crucial; where attendance of school (or leisure) is the norm, parents are likely to place a higher value on it either through their own assessment of the value or because they may feel negative social pressure for not complying with the norm. Similarly, awareness of rights or the enforcement of legal sanctions will influence parents’ and children’s preferences. Again, in the Indian context the role of caste and other social factors will have a major bearing on the extent to which parents and children are aware of (and feel entitled to) their rights.

Whose preferences matter? Bargaining power within the household It is important to note that not all household members will always have the same preferences: mothers and fathers may disagree on the optimal level of schooling and work, and indeed children will have their own preferences. Economic models using a unitary view of the household (where there is the assumption of one joint preference function) need to be broadened to incorporate a more complex view of the household as a site of contestation as well as cooperation, where men, women (and in this case children) have potentially different interests and opportunities. In these so-called collective models, individual preferences are accounted for separately, the final outcome depends not only on maximising utility subject to the budget constraint but additionally on the relative bargaining power of each party. The nature of bargaining positions within the household in order will therefore explain to what extent individual members are able to assert their differing preferences.

The determinants of bargaining position will always be highly specific to a socio-cultural setting, but in general are made up of a fallback option and bargaining power. Fallback options are the outcomes that would occur if the bargaining process were to break down (either inside or outside of marriage). Important outside options (i.e. potential for divorce or separation) include: women’s earnings (or potential earnings partly determined by education); assets available to each person; laws and norms governing marriage, divorce and custody; and proximity to natal kin. Fallback options within marriage depend on other forms of resistance strategies (‘harsh words and burnt toast’, social sanctions within the family that the woman can muster, etc). Overall, men have much better fall-back options as they are not dependent on economic support and often have custody rights as well as many prospects for remarriage.


22 May 2010

Bargaining power is defined as the extent to which the parties are able to affect an outcome that best fits their preferences or, in other words, maximises their utility. Children are often assumed to have zero bargaining power, with their parents making all the decisions on their behalf. However, this assumption is not always valid. Previous research in Rajasthan (Custer et al 2005) indicates that in some households children may make decisions in normal circumstances, while when household subsistence is threatened adults may impose decisions on children. Children should therefore also be considered to have a bargaining position just as parents do, which is influenced by their fallback options. In the case of children the fallback options are limited and (as with adults) are influenced by their specific social and economic circumstances.

Household budget constraints The household budget constraint simply determines how much of a household’s schooling, consumption, and leisure it can afford. Some of the most important factors in the context of child labour decisions are:

� Adult earnings: The most important contributor to the household budget constraint is normally adult earnings. Earnings reflect conditions in the adult labour market (wage rates, hours of work available) and/or agricultural or business income. Decisions over female labour force participation are critical here, and these are highly influenced by the socio-cultural setting (in terms of the social acceptability of women’s paid employment or expectations about women’s time spent in productive agricultural activities on a family farm). Where mothers work in productive (as opposed to purely domestic) activities there is likely to be an increased demand for (particularly girl) children to help out with domestic chores such as cooking and child minding.

The budget constraint will impact children in the household differently, depending on gender (with girls often substituting for mothers’ time more often than boys) and birth order (with elder children often more likely to be needed to help with domestic chores or wage earnings and younger children able to attend school as a result).

It is important to note the important role in the Indian context of inter-linked transactions (where land/labour, credit/labour, or credit/land transactions are bundled together through a landlord or employer) on adult earnings. These transactions (for example sharecropping where land and labour are combined or where an employer provides advances as a sort of payday loan) are often on highly disadvantageous terms to the sharecropper/employee, in many cases implying a vicious cycle of debt or obligation to the landlord/employer. This serves to lower the real amount of earnings that are available to the household and also limits the potential for adults to take up other better employment opportunities (because they are obligated to work off their debt). These types of arrangements often arise because a lack of well-functioning markets as outlined below.

� Market imperfections - labour, credit, insurance. Even beyond the direct calculations of earnings, the budget constraint is impacted by market imperfections, the most important of which are in the labour, credit, and insurance markets. Each of these have different implications for child labour and schooling decisions:

o Credit markets: The lack of functioning credit markets has a major impact on a household’s ability to balance its desired trade-off between consumption and schooling due not to a lack of adequate resources in a given period but rather due to a lack of liquidity in the immediate term. This is most obviously true over the medium- to long-term, where parents may recognise the potential


23 May 2010

returns to schooling for their children and be well aware that investments in education will reap longer-term rewards, but in the absence of available credit would be unable to take out a loan to pay for school (or to substitute for children’s employment) even if they would like to.

In a short-term sense the lack of credit also has a major impact through different channels. Firstly, for households that are self-employed in agriculture or business, the lack of liquidity may mean that they prefer to use their own children’s labour (or mother’s labour which then requires increased child domestic work) instead of hiring in an outside adult to do the work. In these instances the problem is not the budget constraint per se, but rather the ability to access cash immediately. Secondly, it may compel households to enter into an inter-linked transaction (for example a sharecropping arrangement) on adverse terms, which lowers the effective adult earnings as mentioned above. Finally, the lack of access to credit will severely limit a household’s options in dealing with a shock (due to a failed harvest, medical emergency, or death of an adult wage earner); in the absence of credit a household may be forced to withdraw a child from school or put that child into productive or paid work.

o Labour markets: Even where agricultural households (or indeed other family-run businesses) could afford to pay for outside labour to assist with production, there may be constraints due to imperfections in the labour market. One of the most common in the Indian context is the lack of substitutability between household labour and labour that is hired-in, particularly where high-quality work is required (as in the case with cottonseed production). Another is the highly seasonal nature of work, which means that households often wouldn’t be able to find adequate outside labour during peak times such as harvesting or cross-pollination of cottonseeds. Labour market imperfections therefore may cause a household that is even better-off in terms of assets and is above subsistence level in terms of income to engage their child in work/labour.

o Insurance markets: As with the lack of credit markets, the lack of adequate insurance makes households more prone to impacts from shocks, the brunt of which may be borne by children.

� Costs of education: In addition to the opportunity costs of children’s schooling (i.e. the wages they could earn or support their parents in earning), the direct and indirect monetary costs of attendance play a major role in determining the household’s budget constraint. Direct costs in the form of tuition fees in theory should not be a major constraint in India since government primary and secondary schools are fee free, however, especially for secondary school, where there is a lack of physical access to state schools the only option may be a private school. Alternatively, where parents judge government school quality to be too low, even poor parents may opt out of the public education system in favour of private schools. Other costs – even in government schools – include books, notebooks and supplies, uniforms, and transportation. These may in theory be small costs but for poor households (especially those with liquidity constraints) they can be significant.

Policy implications and entry points for communicat ion strategies Understanding the nature and role of preferences, bargaining power, and budget constraints is important not just in a theoretical sense, but also because each of these elements of the


24 May 2010

household decision-making process have very different implications for potential policy options, entry points, and the role of communications strategies.

Policy options and communications entry points The policy options implied by the framework above are fairly straight-forward and have been discussed extensively elsewhere so they will not be outlined in detail here. The key point for the present purpose is to emphasise that there are some aspects of the household decision-making process that can be directly changed through communications strategies at the household or village level and others where a communications strategy will be relevant only at a much higher policy advocacy level.

These entry points for communications will depend on both where in the policy cycle issues arise (see box below) as well as the nature of household decision-making. Generally speaking,

� Where the most binding constraint is in the shape of household preferences, there is some scope for direct communications strategies at the household level to influence how households value the trade-off between child work, consumption, and education through:

o Reducing information asymmetries: for example, parents may not be able fully to assess the productivity benefits of school (especially for girls), or the well-being benefits of leisure, or the harm caused by child labour.

o Influencing social norms: For example, reducing the social standards expected for wedding expenses for girls, which in some cases drive families to put girls to work so that they can offset some of their own marriage costs. Or, for historic reasons individuals may feel that it is the ‘role’ of their community not to attend school, and hence children may not attend school when the payoffs suggest that they should.

� Where the most binding constraint is related to the lack of bargaining power of some household members (women and children in particular), communications strategies at the village level could be used to increase their bargaining power through for example

o Supporting fallback options: in the context of child work and schooling this might mean promoting women’s negotiating efforts with their husbands and in-laws through facilitation

o Influencing social norms: as with household preferences, influencing social norms can help to increase bargaining power, for example in making fathers aware of a ‘critical mass’ of children who are attending school, etc.

� Where the household budget constraint is the most binding issue, communications strategies directed at households or villages may have limited usefulness, since households themselves might like to make other choices but feel compelled to send children to work and/or keep them from school. In these instances, communications strategies are more likely to be helpful at a higher policy advocacy level. This can take place at different points in the policy and budget cycle such as:

o Policy formulation: where further poverty reduction or income support policies may be required, communication can focus on building the understanding for policy-makers on the links between policy options and the reduction of child labour.


25 May 2010

o Resource allocation: where policies are in place, advocacy efforts can be focused on ensuring adequate funding for programmes.

o Budget execution/Programme implementation: Where programmes are funded, the next area relates to the efficiency and effectiveness of implementation (for example, in the better implementation of NREGA or mid-day meal scheme).

o Evaluation: Given the overall lack of good evaluation data on child labour, there are entry points for a communications strategy to ensure that child labour outcomes are included in evaluation results for a range of relevant programmes (again, in particular NREGA but also SSA or ICDS) and that these results are communicated effectively to policy-makers and donors.


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Box 1.1 The policy cycle and policy entry points

1.3 Research questions

This conceptual framework will be used to analyse the data collected to answer the research questions. Using this conceptual framework as a guide, questions can be grouped as follows:

• Decision-makers � Who in the households makes decisions around the allocation of children’s

time? � What factors influence who makes these decisions? � Whose well-being do decision-makers consider?

The policy cycle The diagram below outlines the key stages in the overlapping policy and budget cycles.

• Problem identification: an analysis of the poverty situation.

• Policy Formulation: policy and programmes developed to respond to poverty situation.

� Prioritisation: policies and programmes prioritised within medium term expenditure frameworks and annual budgets.

� Implementation: budgets are executed each year

� Monitoring and reporting: assess whether spending was effective.

� Annual planning and budgeting: realistic plans which reflect an appropriate mix of inputs developed

• Evaluation: impact of policies and programmes assessed.

The full policy cycle generally spans over a longer time frame in order to allow the results of policy to take effect and the impacts to be measured, whereas the budget cycle is repeated annually. It is therefore within the budget cycle that implementation unfolds and services are delivered.

Identifying policy entry points The first step in identifying policy entry points is in pinpointing gaps in the translation from one stage to the next. For example, policy may not respond appropriately to the poverty situation; budgeted allocations may not match stated policy commitments; or actual spending may not match the amount budgeted, or the intent of the policy. In each of these cases, the discrepancy raises a red flag that there is an underlying problem. This must then be investigated to unravel why the discrepancy occurred, as this will help to identify the most useful entry point.


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� What do decision-makers choose between? - Education, work, leisure

• Decisions on education - productivity benefits (represented by higher or more secure wages

currently or more often in future)? - developmental benefits (represented by the overall development and

growth of the child)? - social benefits of education (represented principally by the value

added in the marriage market)? - immediate well-being benefits? - direct costs of attending? - costs of not attending (punishment for breaking the law, such as fines

or imprisonment)?

• Decisions on work - direct income to the individual and the household? - future productivity and job security? - developmental benefits? - social benefits? - immediate well-being benefits? - harm caused to children (currently or in future)? - penalties (punishments such as fines or imprisonment, or social

stigma)?

• Decisions on leisure - developmental effects on the child (represented by their future well-

being)? - current enjoyment for the child?

• Norms � How do historical social and cultural norms affect decision-makers’ choices? � How do transient social and cultural norms affect decision-makers’ choices?

• Market failures: � How do failures in labour, credit, and insurance markets affect decision-

makers’ choices?

These questions about the nature of child labour and education, and different individuals’ perceptions of them, will underlie suggestions around intervention. Outside this conceptual framework, questions about schemes are also addressed:

• Current schemes, policies, and laws � What schemes, policies and laws exist in research areas? � What are different individuals’ knowledge of these schemes, policies and

laws? � Who benefits from the available schemes? � What other factors encourage or discourage uptake of these schemes?


28 May 2010

These questions then lead into a discussion of potential policy changes which separates out programmatic recommendations from communication recommendations. The key questions include:

• Structural factors � What factors underlying decisions for children to work are ‘structural’ in

nature, and thus require a focus on influencing the policy debate and are not necessarily going to change only via a communications strategy?

� What would be appropriate policy responses to these factors?

• Other factors � What information asymmetries support child labour? How can these

asymmetries be reduced? � Are there norms that influence tradeoffs between work and schooling and that

make child labour more likely? How can these norms be influenced? � Are there specific individuals responsible for the supply of education that can

be influenced to improve to the quality and quality of schooling? How can these individuals be influenced?

� Are there social norms that encourage work? How can they be influenced?


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2 Methodology

2.1 Overview

The methodology was driven strongly by the terms of reference (TOR), which specified that participatory methods should be used to conduct research with a ‘primary target audience’ (consisting of child labourers and their mothers, fathers, and elders, child non-labourers and their mothers, fathers, and elders, and opinion leaders in their communities) in groups, and a ‘secondary target audience’ (consisting of other actual and potential stakeholders in child labour and education) in individual interviews. The participatory tools and interview schedules were developed and piloted by OPM and a local research team in Banaskantha district in Gujarat, and subsequently revised in a training workshop with the entire research team. The aim of this methodology was to generate information and perceptions on child labour, and implications for a communications strategy, from individuals and groups with different stakes in the child labour process. With this in mind, and driven by the conceptual framework, research tools included techniques such as ‘My Day’, seasonal calendars, ‘Forcefield analysis’, and role plays (see Annex B.1.1 for more details).

Research was conducted in one or two districts in four states selected by UNICEF (Gujarat: District Kutch, Maharashtra: District Jalna, Rajasthan: District Udaipur; and Tamil Nadu: Districts Dharmapuri and Salem) as having either large areas under cotton cultivation or supplying many labourers for cotton cultivation (Rajasthan). In Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Rajasthan, research was conducted in two villages in one district, while in Tamil Nadu, research was conducted in one village in two districts (one district from which child labourers migrated to work, and the other a neighbouring district to which child labourers migrated to work). These districts were selected by UNICEF on the basis of high areas of cotton cultivation or sending children to work and high numbers of children. Villages were selected by OPM on the basis of child labour prevalence and cotton cultivation.

The research teams were composed of a lead researcher and field researchers in each district. The lead researchers are all experienced researchers on child labour issues, particularly in the cotton sector. Field researchers were selected for their knowledge of the local areas and the local language. Research was overseen by an OPM research coordinator.

In each village, researchers aimed to conduct one type of each the eleven groups, and ten interviews with key stakeholders. At the district level, the lead researchers would conduct 8 interviews with district level staff. Researchers met with some resistance to the research in many states, both at village and district levels, and the implications of this resistance are set out below.

For further details on the choice of the districts and villages, planned groups and activities conducted, as well as timing of fieldwork please refer to methodological Annexes A and B.

2.2 Primary target audience

As indicated in the TOR, the primary target audience were child labourers and their mothers, fathers, and elders; child non-labourers and their mothers, fathers, and elders; and opinion leaders in their communities. A participatory and ‘mixed methods’ research approach was used whereby appropriate methods were used with different (but homogenous) groups of


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children, adults, etc. The aim was to engage key stakeholders and make the research as child-centred as possible.

One lead researcher and two field researchers (who spoke the local language in each district) aimed to conduct one group in each village with each of these 11 categories, totalling 22 groups per district. These groups were:

1. Child labourers (male), 2. Child labourers (female) 3. Child non-labourers (male) 4. Child non-labourers (female) 5. Child labourers’ mothers 6. Child labourers’ fathers 7. Child non-labourers’ mothers 8. Child non-labourers’ fathers 9. Child labourers’ elders in their families, 10. Child non-labourers’ elders in their families, 11. Key opinion leaders (community leaders, collectives, SHG members, religious leaders

and others) in their communities.

For the purposes of fieldwork, the definition of child labour was operationalised to mean that a child labourer is any child (under the age of 18) who:

• Does paid work and misses school for all of the year

• Does paid work and misses school in peak season

• Does paid work in evenings or holidays, including in cotton, but is in school

• Does family farm work and misses school for all the year

• Does family farm work and misses school in peak season.

A child non-labourer is any child (under the age of 18) who:

• Is in school all year round, but does family farm work in evenings and holidays.

• Is in school all year round but does housework in evenings and holidays.

• Is not in school all year round and does housework (and no family farm or paid work).

In destination districts (Kutch and Salem), researchers tried to interview children who had travelled for work (including the Bhagiya community in Kutch). If these children were unavailable, they tried to interview local children. In source districts (Udaipur and Dharmapuri), researchers tried to interview labourers who had returned from work or who are working at home.

Given that many households contain both school-going and labouring children, the definition of mothers, fathers and elders of child labourers and non-child labourers was not straightforward. It was important to find ways to separate these groups. Other groups were therefore operationalised as:

• Child labourers’ mothers are mothers of one or more child labourer. In destination districts (Kutch and Salem), researchers interviewed local child labourers’ mothers and considered especially widowed or divorced women.


31 May 2010

• Child labourers’ fathers are fathers of one or more child labourer. In destination districts (Kutch and Salem), researchers interviewed local child labourers’ fathers.

• Child non-labourers’ mothers are mothers of no child labourers. These groups were intended to be similar in background to the labourers’ parents groups if possible, in order to explore why some parents send their children to work and others do not.

• Child non-labourers’ fathers are fathers of no child labourers.

• Child labourers’ elders are male or female older members in households that contain one or more child labourer. In destination districts (Kutch and Salem), researchers interviewed local child labourers’ elders.

• Child non-labourers’ elders are male or female older members in households that contain no child labourers. In practice, it was usually impossible to find groups of this sort, since almost all elders were connected to child labourers.

• Key opinion leaders are influential people in the village, possibly including religious leaders, Anganwadi workers, older persons, teachers, health providers, tribal leaders, etc.

Participants in these focus groups were selected using introductions to each community from local officials and NGO workers, and then through snowball sampling where individuals in each group were asked to recruit or suggest other individuals who would be suitable.

Participatory work was conducted with these groups using a range of techniques. These included:

• Focus group discussion to explore particular issues in more depth in a group

• My day at home or at work to explore what children’s experiences of work or home are like and to compare boys’ and girls’ experiences (by comparing different groups)

• Seasonal calendar to explore what work takes place at different times of year and whether this involves a clash with the school year

• Forcefield analysis of school and work to understand groups’ views on the benefits and problems of school and education, on the one hand, and of work in general and their specific work, on the other. This analysis also leads to suggestions for improvements to school and work.

• Credible sources of information, using chapati diagrams to understand who participants perceive as credible sources of information, particularly around child labour and education.

These techniques were used to generate information on knowledge, attitudes and practice on a range issues. The mapping of issues to groups and techniques is presented in a table in the training manual.

The groups conducted are set out in Annex A.5. Researchers in each district met with different challenges in finding and conducting groups.

2.3 Secondary target audience

Lead researchers conducted individual in-depth interviews with the ‘Secondary Target Audience’, consisting in other actual and potential stakeholders in child labour and education, supported by researchers where needed. This group consists of:

1. employers (principally farmers and ginning mill owners) of children in research communities,


32 May 2010

2. contractors of children in research communities, 3. cotton seed organisers and sub-organisers in research communities, 4. transporters of children from the research communities, 5. teachers in research communities, 6. NGO workers in research communities and/or districts, 7. formal and informal group members in research communities, 8. district level anti-trafficking and child labour committees in research districts, 9. representatives of the media in research communities and/or districts, 10. child rights units in the research districts, 11. members of the judiciary in the research districts, 12. elected representatives in research communities, and 13. government staff in research districts.

Not all of these individuals would be available in each district. For instance, employers and organisers would only be available in destination districts. Contractors would probably only be available in source districts, depending on the timing of the research. Interviews conducted are set out in Annex section A.5. There were significant challenges in obtaining interviews with district level stakeholders in particular in each state.

2.4 Workshops

The participatory work with the Primary Audience and the interviews with the Secondary Audience were brought together in a district workshop where research participants had an opportunity to share their findings amongst themselves and with a broader audience of district level relevant stakeholders and UNICEF state representatives. The workshops took place at two levels: first at the village level to share research findings with village level stakeholders in a safer environment, and second at the district level to share findings with district level stakeholders and to generate implications for the communications strategies. The objectives of this workshop were to first share findings as observed at the village and district levels; second, to develop some common understanding and/or identify differences of opinion across workshop participants; third, based on the preliminary findings, to get some inputs/ideas for future communication strategies (opportunities, constraints, and challenges). The workshop will take place at village level first with the primary target audience, and then district level with the secondary target audience.

2.5 Limitations

The research was conducted in a limited research area and should not be interpreted as being representative of the wider states or the rest of India. Findings presented in the report may be taken as indicative but certainly not representative. Even within the research districts or villages, the research is not based on a statistically representative or randomly generated sample, so the findings cannot be taken to be strictly representative of these villages and must be interpreted within this limited context. For more details on the limitations encountered per district, see Annex Section A.3.


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3 Introduction to the research areas 6

The districts and villages chosen for this study vary greatly in their social, economic and political composition, and a basic understanding of these characteristics underlies any interpretation of the results. This section aims to briefly introduce each study area. This will be done by briefly giving an overview of the characteristics that differentiate each district, and then by focusing on the specific composition and context of the eight villages that were chosen for this study.

3.1 Broad district level trends

A selected number of trends are briefly presented below, testifying the diverse nature of each of the districts encompassed in this study. • Population growth rate: In terms of decadal growth rates, Salem and Dharmapuri districts

in Tamil Nadu and Jalna district in Maharashtra reflect lower growth rates than study districts in Rajasthan (Udaipur) and Gujarat (Kachchh). As an example, in Salem, the decadal population growth rate from 1991-2001 was only 11 percent compared to more than double this figure – 27 percent growth rate – in Udaipur district during the same period. This is not too surprising, given that the former two states boast a better health, social, and economic development scenario than the latter two states. Interestingly, the lower the percentage decadal population growth rate, the higher the index value for the district, better placing the district in terms of development indicators.

• Percentage of Child Population: While in Salem and Dharmapuri 19 percent and 22 percent of the population are children between the ages of 5-14 respectively (1 in 5 people are children), the other districts have a higher percentage of child population, with at least one child between the ages of 5-14 for every four people.

• Urbanisation: There is a considerable variation in the percentage of population living in urban areas across the districts. Jalna, Udaipur, and Dharmapuri are mostly rural (20% of population living in urban areas) whereas Salem and Kachchh are much more “urban” at 46 and 30% respectively. Among all the study areas, Dharmapuri is the least urban at 16%, followed by Udaipur at 18%. Interestingly, it is from these largely rural areas of Dharmapuri and Udaipur that one observes distinct patterns of child migration brought on largely by economic need. Research findings show that these “source” districts for child migration share patterns of underdevelopment that contribute to “distress” migration.

• Tribal Composition: In Udaipur district, which is in southern Rajasthan, almost half the population (48%) belongs to the scheduled tribe group. This is a much higher percentage than all the other research areas, where tribal population ranges from 2 percent in Jalna, to 3 percent in Salem and 8 percent in Kachchh.

• Sex Ratio: The skewed sex ratio among the 0-6 age group is particularly stark in the case of Dharmapuri and Salem, where there are less than 900 females per every 1,000 males, well below the “natural” sex ratio. For example, the sex ratio for 0-6 year old children in Dharmapuri is 869 females/1000 males, while in Salem it is 851 females/1000 males. These figures are in contrast with the overall sex ratio in each district, 938 and 929,

6 In the analysis that follows, state names are referred where findings are common to all research districts in the state. District names are referred to when findings are generalised to district level, and village names are referred to when the findings are more precise to a village.


34 May 2010

respectively. Similarly for Jalna – the sex ratio is 951 for the district as a whole, but 903 for children 0-6 years of age7.

• Literacy rate8: None of the districts included in this study fare very well in terms of literacy rates, with all figures below 66%. The best-performing district is Salem, at 65%, followed by Jalna in Maharashtra (64%) and Dharmapuri. Rajasthan and Gujarat both fare badly, with Kachchh at 60%, and Udaipur at 59%. Literacy rates, if disaggregated by sex, can also reflect a gender bias in educational access and opportunity – be it in formal or non-formal education. Not surprisingly, across all study districts, male literacy rates are higher than female rates. The largest gender gaps in literacy are in Udaipur (M: 73; F: 43) and in Jalna (M: 79; F: 49), followed by Kachchh, Dharmapuri, and Salem.

3.2 Study villages

3.2.1 Rajasthan: Kharbar and Khadakaya in Udaipur d istrict

Udaipur district is one of the tribal dominated districts of south Rajasthan. This composition is reflected in the two study villages, Kharbar, in Sarada block, and Khadakaya, in Kherwada block. The salient features of the two villages are given in the table below.

Table 3.2 Salient Features of Selected Villages

Description Kharbar Khadakaya Comments Location Off National Highway 8, 60 KM

from Udaipur in Sarada block Remotest location – on Gujarat border, 125 Km from Udaipur- forest and hilly area- in Kherwada block

Houses located on hill tops, distant from one another. Large area, difficult terrain

Households About 350 About 250 (219 as per census)

Population 1201 As per 2001 census Average number of children per family

More than five More than six As per current survey participants

Social Composition Mainly tribals, only a few SC families (Meghawal) in one Phalan

All tribal households As per discussions with people and officials

Gotra Mainly Kharadi Kharadi; Kopasa; Pado; Bhagora; Damor; Asari

Number of Phalan (i) Hadat (AWC) (ii) Viary (iii) Gadwas (PS) (iv)

(i) Surajpura (PS) (ii) Ganeshpura (PS) (iii) Talai (iv) Kajariya (v) Khakali (vi) Kopasa (vii) Khadakaya (UPS+AWC)

Schools One shared UP+ six PS (3 PS+3SK)

One UP + 2 PS Multiple

Number of AWC 2 1 Inadequate coverage Children who had never been to

Found Found, high intensity, specially among girls

Survey

7 In the context of India, the sex ratio is usually skewed in the favour of males and reflects, in brief, a deep-rooted cultural preference for boys, patriarchal norms and values, and consequently, a very low value for girls and women beyond their role as mothers, wives and child caregiver. This statistic reflects gender inequality and disparity, particularly in the household decision making process around care-giving, food, health care, work responsibilities, etc. 8 The literacy rate is the proportion of the population over age fifteen that can read and write.


35 May 2010

school Working children in paid and unpaid work

Common: on farm, livestock/ domestic work; CSP, construction/hotels/ ginning/shops

Common: on farm, livestock/ domestic work; CSP, construction/hotels/ ginning/ picking of cotton, jamfal, forest produce/shops

Sources of livelihood

Agriculture; livestock; wage labour; NREGA; forest produce. People go for wage labour to Parsad and Udaipur daily. Some go to different parts of Gujarat seasonally

Agriculture; livestock; NREGA; forest products. Also wage labour in nearby Gujarat villages {Rodiyawara(7km); Chichriya (7Km)} labourers go in the morning and come back in the evening Some go to different parts of Gujarat seasonally

Very few people in service and trade and other self-employment In service: around 40 in Kharbar and 7 in Khadakaya. Other work include that of drivers/khalasi

Perceived Main Issues

(i) Lack of employment (ii) Low Irrigation (iii) Poor Quality of education (iv)Corruption (v)Lack of information (vi) Sarpanch lives outside

(i) Drinking water availability - hand pumps main source, but few are in working conditions. People get water from distant places on donkeys. (ii) Lack of employment

As reported by different groups

Agriculture Generally people own 4-5 bigha of land. There are two tractors and two electric motors in the village. Mostly people have diesel engines for irrigation.

One to 15 bighas ownership. This year’s crop was not good. Main crops: Maize, Til, Urad, Paddy. Recently CSP began in this area.

SHG --- 8-10 groups, but none is functioning

Electricity Electricity No electricity in the village

Source: Rajasthan researchers’ district level report

The main trends emerging in the two villages are the following:

• The research area is challenging for focus groups. The spread of the villages makes contact and approach extremely complex. Some Phalan are located at a considerable distance from the road, and are accessible by walking through hills.

• Agriculture, livestock and wage labour are the main sources of livelihood in the area. There is also some earning from forest collection, especially in Khadakaya. Land holdings are generally very small, with scarce irrigation and low productivity. Moreover, this is mainly a single crop area, with main crops including maize, paddy, urad, til and of late (for the last two years) cottonseed farming in Khadakaya and nearby areas. This has implications for child labour migration. Education level is low and state of education insufficient – consequently occupational diversification is low and opportunities for development scarce.

• The tribal community in the surveyed villages is definitely not homogeneous in any sense of the term – social, cultural, economic and/or political. Social stratification is quite clearly visible within the community (even to the naked eyes in terms of good pukka concrete houses on the one hand and dilapidated huts on the other). This stratification has led to exploitative political power relations within the community. On the one hand are poor, uneducated, gullible tribal families and on the other, educated, prosperous powerful individuals who exploit community brethrens for their own benefit. Interestingly, the emerging well-off group is mainly either of educated persons who have been able to get


36 May 2010

permanent jobs or who have been part of the political process i.e. elected representatives.

• Kharbar in particular has been extremely politicised. The present Member of Parliament hails from this area. The Sarpanch is very powerful as he is the younger brother of an MP. The Sarpanch does not live in the village. He lives in the nearby town Parsad and both Sachiv and Patwari operate from his house rather than their village offices. The team found the Panchayat office closed whenever they tried to visit during survey work.

• In both villages, there is a group of informed persons who can be mobilised for further work. This group has worked with unions and NGOs, and have participated in student and social movements including tribal organisations. There has been a political participation as well, including all the three types of main political parties, Congress, BJP and communist parties.

• The main issues in the two villages are somewhat similar, especially in terms of livelihood sources, lack of education infrastructure and implementation of programmes. For example, migration to Gujarat is from both villages. However, people from Khadakaya are closer to the border and cross over on a daily basis, while in Kharbar people travel by local transport, which involves a cost.

• In some areas of Khadakaya there is a severe drinking water problem. Also, there is no electricity.

• Drunkenness is another common issue in both areas.

3.2.2 Gujarat: Samatra and Bhuwad in Kachchh distri ct

The two villages selected in Kachchh district were Bhuwad in Anjar Taluka, and Samatra in Kachchh taluka. Both the villages were selected after ensuring that they had a high area under cotton cultivation. One village was selected because of its distance from district headquarters, while the other was near district headquarter and located on the main road.

It is important to note that the selected blocks in Kachchh district are relatively prosperous, as commercial Bt cotton is grown in the area, irrigation is plentiful and land quality is good. The reconstruction activities after the devastating Gujarat earthquake also contributed to the betterment of people in the area. Local authorities reported that water level and irrigation facilities increased in the wake of earthquake, making agriculture more remunerative. Large landowners in particular have benefited substantially. The prosperity of these areas compared to others in the district is clearly reflected by the survey results.

Both the selected villages are highly differentiated socially as well as economically. In terms of land-holding, the major source of wealth and power in the area, both villages presented stark contrasts: on one hand families who are landless and survive on wage labour, and on the other families who own more than 100 acres, who do not even participate in the working of their own land. Interestingly, in both villages one important reported source of income is migration to other countries – another activity which is specific to the rich and powerful. However, the incidence, depth and spread of emigration are much higher in Samatra than in Bhuwad.

• Samatra, which is locally known as a Non Resident Indian village, is dominated by the Patel community. The wealth of the village is immediately apparent to the visitor, as it is full of beautiful houses and fenced vadis (large farms) with decorated gates. From Samatra, people migrate to several countries in the world for skilled labour work as well as business. This means that a lot of money flows into social services as well. The


37 May 2010

headmaster of the school said that it is a model village in terms of education as there is a trust which provides considerable financial help to promote education. The school building is two floors high, with a sufficient number of rooms, benches, fans, as well as computers. Needy students are provided with scholarships and there is a tuition facility at a cheap rate. Moreover, the village is unique as a wealthy resident has set up a water treatment plant and everyone is provided with free bottled drinking water absolutely free of cost. However, despite this positive image, Samatra still has a problem with education and child labour, a problem which is specific to migrant labourers (mostly Bhagiyas) and local communities who fall lowest in the social and economic hierarchy.

• Bhuwad village is also differentiated, but perhaps not to this extent. It is relatively socially homogenous in the sense that it is dominated by Ahirs who are not economically, socially and politically as powerful as the Patels of Samatra. However, in Bhuwad as well, there is one particular community – the Dataniya – who do not send their children to schools.

Table 3.3 Comparative Social Background of Samatra and Bhuwad

(a) Social basis (b) Land holding Caste Samatra Bhuwad Size Samatra Bhuwad SC - Maheshwari 170 100 Marginal & Small,

up to five acres 185 (Mainly SC)

125 or 185 (Mainly SC/ Muslims)

OBC – Ahir 130 347 Medium, 10 to 15 acres

200 120

Hindu Upper-Patels/Darbar

450 35 Big, 50+ acres 59 (mainly Patels- some Darbar)

40 (Darbar and Ahirs mainly)

ST- Koli 30 0 Large, 100+ 6 (Patels) 6 (Darbar and Ahirs)

Muslims 70 50 Landless 400 60-100 Rabari/Dataniya 30 18 Total 850 532

Main Crops (similar in both the villages)

Cotton; Groundnut; Wheat; Til; Jeera; Moong; Vegetables

Ration Cards APL=625;BPL=231

APL:340 BPL:192

Reported number of Bhagiya family

60 100-125 as per Sarpanch

Note: 1. Number of families and number of rations cards may not tally because there may be more than one ration card in one family. 2. There are no Patels in Bhuwad. It is an Ahir (OBC) and Darbar (higher caste Rajputs) dominated village. Samatra is dominated by Patels (though OBC, they are more powerful than Darbars, who are Rajputs). In Samatra Patels were categorised as Upper caste. 3. Official Landholding data are not available. Data given in the table are based on discussions with Sarpanch and others 4. There are some local sharecroppers within villages – mainly SC/Rabari/Muslims. 5. In both the villages Sarpanch is a big land-owner belonging to dominant caste- Ahir in Bhuwad and Patel in Samatra. 6. The estimate of Bhagiya families is very approximate, but based on research impressions there should be more in Samatra than in Bhuwad.

3.2.3 Tamil Nadu: Salem and Dharmapuri

The main field work for the study was conducted in two Panchayat villages, namely Sitteri and Puttur. Sitteri is located in Papireddipatti Block in Dharmapuri district, while Puttur is located in Thalaivasal block in Salem district. The next paragraph will give a brief overview of both.

Alongside the village of Sitteri, which distances 18 km from the nearest town and 66 km from district headquarters, fieldwork in Dharmapuri was also conducted in three of its hamlet village, Pereri, Pereri Pudur and Momparai, which are not connected by metalled roads. The Gram Panchayat of Sitteri, with its 62 hamlets, encompasses almost 2200 households, with a total population of approximately 7000. The main village and hamlets are all surrounded by


38 May 2010

thick forest, leaving limited agricultural land available for cultivation. The main crops grown in the area are jowar, paddy, cotton, bangalgram and maize, crops that are all largely dependent on monsoons. The total area under irrigation is less than 15% of total cultivated area, while the main sources of irrigation are bore wells and tanks. Except for 24 households everyone in Sitteri village owns land, though the quality of land is poor and nearly 50% of landowners are marginal land owners with less than 1 hectare. 30% own between 1 and 2 hectares, and only 20% own over 2 hectares.

In terms of social composition, Dharmapuri is a tribal area. Over 95% of households in Sitteri are scheduled tribes: out of a total 840 households in the main village, nearly 800 are STs and the remaining 40 belong to SC and other communities. 90% of them are Hindus while the remaining 10% Christians and Muslims.

The Sitteri Gram Panchayat has a total 5 primary schools, 15 upper primary schools and one high school. The village is electrified, while most of its hamlets do not have protected drinking water (sources are wells and small ponds). Moreover, only 21 hamlets have Anganwadi centres. The main political parties are the DMK and the AIDMK. NGO presence is not strong. The only operative NGO focuses on watershed development and women empowerment activities.

The following table presents an overview of the population characteristics in Sitteri village.

Table 3.4 Sitteri village, population overview

Parameter Total Male Female Percentage Sex Ratio Population 3795 1962 1833 100 934 Population (0-6) 546 305 241 16.81 790 Scheduled Castes 8 3 5 0.25 1667 Scheduled Tribes 3731 1934 1797 114.84 929 Literates 1381 894 487 42.51 545 Illiterates 2414 1068 1346 57.49 1260 Workers 2378 1250 1128 62.66 902 Main Workers 2320 1220 1100 61.13 902 Main Cultivators 2085 1098 987 89.87 899 Main Agricultural labourers

102 44 58 4.4 431

Main Workers in household industries

50 24 26 2.16 1083

Main Other Workers 83 54 29 3.58 1933 Marginal Workers 58 30 28 1.53 5400 Marginal Cultivators 26 18 8 44.83 444 Marginal Agricultural labourers

29 9 20 50 2222

Marginal Workers in Household industries

0 0 0 0 3

Marginal Other Workers

3 0 5.17 0

Non Workers 1417 712 705 37.34 990 Households 840

Source: state level report. The details in the above table are for Sitteri main village only.

This complementary table presents similar information, but by caste, and it refers to the whole Sitteri Gram Panchayat (2300 households approximately).


39 May 2010

Table 3.5 Sitteri: status, by caste

Caste group Population (HH)

Educational levels Occupation Poverty level

Malayali 2000 families

2000 2% About 500 children are

going to school

Agriculture and Agricultural Labourers

1400 families are BPL

BC and MBC 100 families. Vanniyar, Goundaas, Boyas

300 80% are educated Agriculture 25 are BPL

The main village to be researched in Salem district was Puttur, 25 km away from the nearest town and 80 km from district headquarters. Electrified, connected by a tar road, Puttur offers one primary school and one high school and has protected drinking water supplied through taps in most households. It also has two Anganwadi centres and two ration shops, one at the SC colony and one at the main village.

Thanks to good quality soil, the main crops grown in the area are cottonseed, commercial cotton, paddy, and maize. Some 1000 acres of land in this village is under cottonseed production, attracting workers from nearby Dharmapuri district. Nearly 70% of the area is irrigated and the main source of irrigation is ground water though bore wells (due to indiscriminate exploitation of ground water the ground water tables are going down). As for the distribution of land, landless population account for nearly 15% of total households. Nearly 60% are marginal land owners with less than 1 hectare, 20 % own between 1 and 2 hectares, while 10 % own over 2 hectares.

Unlike Sitteri, Puttur is a multi-caste village. Backward castes and most backward castes (Vanniyar, Jangamar and Nattamar) represent 65% of the households. Scheduled castes account for nearly 30% while the remaining 5% are from other communities. Hindus account for nearly 80% of households, Christians for 15-18% and Muslims around 2%. Moreover, 95% of households have ration cards and nearly 80% of the families are in the BPL category. While the main political parties in the area are the DMK and AIDMK, there are no NGOs working on children’s issues in this village.

Table 3.6 Puttur village, population overview

Parameter Total Male Female Percentage Sex Ratio Population 2903 1476 1427 100 967 Population (0-6) 333 174 159 12.96 914 Scheduled Castes 637 328 309 24.79 942 Scheduled Tribes 0 0 0 0 0 Literates 1613 1011 602 62.76 595 Illiterates 1290 465 825 37.24 1774 Workers 1712 866 846 58.97 977 Main Workers 1224 794 430 42.16 542 Main Cultivators 575 411 164 46.98 399 Main Agricultural labourers

431 211 220 35.21 490

Main Workers in household industries

3 2 1 0.25 500

Main Other Workers 215 170 45 17.57 341 Marginal Workers 488 72 416 16.81 4222 Marginal Cultivators 172 25 147 35.25 5880 Marginal Agricultural labourers

268 35 233 54.92 6657


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Marginal Workers in Household industries

4 0 4 0.82

Marginal Other Workers

44 12 32 9.02 2667

Non Workers 1191 610 581 41.03 952 Households 714

3.2.4 Maharashtra: Khadaki and Chandai Ekko

Chandai Ekko is 32km from the nearest town and 37km from the nearest district centre, making it relatively accessible, though the road that leads to it is 80% gravel and 20% kachha. The village is electrified with road lights and almost every household having electricity, while there are 275 tap water connections in town as well. Households with no connection use hand pumps, wells and tanks. It has a Primary and Upper Primary school (1st to 7th Standard) as well as a private Secondary school (8th to 10th Standard). The village also contains two ration shops.

The main activity performed in the village is agriculture, which occupies some 90% of the local population. Moreover, around 10% perform agricultural labour, while around 17% tend animals, 2% operate businesses and 4% work in other services (note that some of these categories overlap). Land ownership is varied in the village. 47 households are landless, while 267 own small plots, 54 own medium sized plots and around 32 own large ones. Crops grown during the Rabi season are wheat, jowar, sugarcane, grams, arhar, while the main Kharif crops are cotton, bajara, soybean, maize, groundnut, mung dal, and tur dal. The land is mostly irrigated by a nearby lake as well as bore wells. From a tenurial point of view, there is no share cropping pattern.

The social composition of the village is varied. It is composed of 125 SC households, 5 ST, 228 OBCs, 142 Upper Hindus, as well as 15 Muslim and 5 Christian households. The distribution of ration cards is the following: 69 APL, 241 BPL, 80 AAY, and 10 Annapurna. Demographically, there are 450 girls age 0-18, and 450 boys; 1017 adult males (age 18-35); 983 adult females; 481 old men (35 and above) and 519 old women, for a total of some 4000 people. The main political parties in the village are the Nationalist Congress Party, Bhartiya Janta Party, and Shivsena Party. The Sarpanch belongs to the Nationalist Congress Party. The only other social organizations in the village are Self Help Saving groups of men and women.

The village of Khadaki is slightly more distant from the nearest town and district centre, at 52 and 57 kilometres respectively. The access road is 30% gravel and 70% kachha. The village is electrified, with almost every house having a connection, and has road lights. Many houses have water taps, with 225 connections, while 5 wells, 2 hand pumps and 1 tank are also available. Khadaki also has one primary/upper primary school (1st to 7th standard) and one private secondary school (8th to 10th standard) as well as one Anganwadi. The village has one ration shop.

The main activity performed in the village is agriculture, which occupies some 90% of the local population. Moreover, around 10% perform agricultural labour, while around 20% tend to animals, 8% operate businesses and 2% work in other services (note that some of these categories overlap). Land ownership is varied in the village. 25 households are landless, while 171 own small plots, 30 own medium sized plots and around 41 own large ones. Crops grown during the Rabi season are wheat, jowar, and grams, while the main Kharif crops are cotton, bajara, maize, mung dal, and tur dal. As in Chandai, the land is irrigated by a nearby lake as well as bore wells. From a tenurial point of view, there is no share cropping pattern.


41 May 2010

Socially, Khadaki is dominated by upper caste Hindus, totalling 215 households. There are also 42 SC households and 10 Muslim households. Ration cards are distributed in the following way: 160 APL, 87 BPL, and 20 AAY (Total 267). Demographically, there are 209 boys and 220 girls aged 0-18; 510 adult males (age 18-35); 493 adult females; 123 old men (35 and above) and 177 old women, for a total of some 1782 people. The main political parties represented locally are the Bhartiya Janta Party and Shivsena party, while the social organizations are mostly self help groups.

Table 3.7 Village Social & Economic Characteristics : Chandai Ekko and Khadaki

Chandai Ekko Khadaki

Landownership

Landless households 47 25

Plot size (small) 267 171

Plot size (medium) 54 30

Plot size (large) 32 41

Agriculture activity (main activity)

90% of population9 90% of population10

Roads

Gravel (partly paved) 80% 30%

Kaccha (unpaved) 20% 70%

Schools

Primary and Upper Prim 1 1

Private Secondary Sch. 1 1

Anganwadi Center - 1

Social Composition

SC 125 -

ST 5 -

OBC 228 -

Upper Hindu 142 215

Muslims 15 10

Hindu 5 -

Population Composition

Girls 450 220

Boys 450 209

Adult males 1017 510

Adult females 983 493

Old males 481 123

Old females 519 177

Total Population (estimate) 4000 1782

9 Around 10% perform agricultural labour, around 17% tend animals, 2% operate businesses and 4% work in other services (some of these categories overlap). 10 Around 10% perform agricultural labour, around 20% tend to animals, 8% operate businesses and 2% work in other services (some of these categories overlap)


42 May 2010

4 Child labour and education practices

Before moving onto an understanding of why households made certain decisions, this chapter briefly outlines what patterns were observed in the practices of households on child work and schooling. It begins with a comparative analysis to draw out the broad trends across states, and then provides a more detailed summary of the findings in the study villages. Each section concludes with a box that summarises the key KAP findings.

4.1 Comparative analysis of practices in work and s chooling

One of the biggest over-arching questions of the research is to understand what differentiates children who study and do not undertake child labour from those who drop out of school to work. The findings revealed that the line of demarcation between these two groups is not clear-cut and that instead children combine work, school and leisure. The exact mix of these three activities for a child varies within the same socio-economic group, the same family, or indeed the same child at various ages.

The remainder of this section will look at practices in work and schooling from three different angles, drawing on the findings that are summarised in Table 4.9 below. These include (i) the balance between work and schooling for children; (ii) observed practices in the nature of work undertaken by different children; and (iii) observed patterns in the uptake of education. These will be taken in turn.

4.1.1 The balance between work and schooling

The conceptual framework outlined in the first chapter posited a trade-off between child work, schooling, and leisure. The substitutability of work and schooling came very clearly through the data, where other aspects of children’s development such as leisure or play, were rarely considered as viable alternative options. For example: “As their parents can’t afford their education, they don’t go to school. Nor can they be kept idle. Therefore, they are sent to work.”11

The balance for households was therefore seen to be between work and schooling. Children were found to fall within the following categories along a continuum:

• Attending school, not working at all

• Attending school, working only during holidays

• Attending school and working simultaneously (in the mornings and evenings and weekends)

• Not attending school and working.

Where individual children were found to fall in these categories partly depended on age, with drop-out and the consequent shift to more work happening at different ages and school years for different children. In fact, even within the same household, different patterns of school and work were different across siblings. Most children are found in the middle

11 Self Help Group President, Dharmapuri, Tamil Nadu.


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categories, since almost all children engage in some domestic and family farm work, even if they do not engage in paid labour

4.1.2 Observed practices in child work

Children at all stages on the school/work continuum were found to combine a wide range of work activities. These can be categorised into:

• Domestic chores (particularly for girls);

• Unpaid work on family farms or with family livestock; and

• Paid labour in agriculture or other jobs (i.e. construction).

The range of activities for different school/work combinations indicates that the type of work or payment is not necessary the primary explanation for whether children were in school, working, or some combination of the two. While being outside the village and engaging in paid work during term time clearly prevents children from attending school, domestic chores and family farm work can also reduce school attendance. Focusing policy measures on paid employment alone, therefore, seems somewhat misplaced. Rather, it seems to be more a question of the volume of work that eventually replaces schooling.

Some more specific trends across the research areas are that in Gujarat there was a greater prevalence of children working on family farms (particularly those of sharecroppers) and some paid agricultural work in the village. In Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu, by contrast, the children in the study were drawn from those groups who migrate for cottonseed production for several months out of the year, while the rest of the year they do paid and unpaid agricultural labour in their family farm or home village. There are also local (non-migrant) children who are working in cottonseed production, but their activities are largely restricted to holidays and before and after school. In Maharashtra, children were found to work mainly on family farms in cotton production and cottonseed production, with households deciding how much cottonseed to produce (i.e. what percentage of their land to allocate to seed) based on the availability of child labour in the household (especially girls). Box 4.2 sets out differences between cotton and cottonseed production.

While time devoted to work and schooling is interdependent, leisure is not considered an option.

It is the volume of work and not the type of work children perform (nor whether it is paid or unpaid) that helps predict children’s mix of schooling and work.


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Box 4.2 Understanding differences in Cotton Product ion and Cottonseed Production

These two different types of cotton sector work have different implications for the duration, timing, conditions and implications of child labour. Very often, these differences are related to migration (see above). Key differences are highlighted below:

• The production cycles for cottonseed and cotton production are quite different.

- The hybrid cottonseeds produced through manual cross pollination are used for commercial cotton production, whereas raw cotton is produced for cloth production and other purposes;

- In cotton production there is no cross pollination activity which is the vital task in cottonseed production. Cross pollination is highly labour intensive, requires skills learned on the job, and is claimed by some employers to be better suited to children than adults because of the low height of the cotton plant and the small size of the flower to be pollinated;

- Cottonseed production is controlled by seed companies who enter into seed buy-back arrangements with seed growers, set out in a written contract that often imposes obligations on farmers not to use child labour. Arrangements between companies and farmers are often mediated by organisers and sub-organisers who act as middlemen (always men in the research areas), trading the cotton or seeds and supervising the contracts. Cotton production is largely carried out by farmers on their own and sold on the open market via ginning mills.

• Relative to cotton production, cottonseed pollination is highly labour intensive and children, particularly girls, are employed in most of its operation for around 40-50 full days per year, making it impossible to combine with school in a day. The timing of this pollination period varies slightly across states and cut across term time. Children are reportedly preferred in general, and girls are strongly preferred in Maharashtra. While justifications of this preference from farmers revolve around children’s small size, children (and sometimes girls) are also paid less, and have lower opportunity costs in terms of income, and these economic imperatives seem better explanations of preference for children in cottonseed pollination. Children may also return for seed harvesting, but this is less labour intensive and shorter than pollination, so involves fewer children.

• The fiddly nature of cross-pollination in cottonseed production means that the ability to do it is a valued skill, but also that the opportunities for career advancement are limited because of the preference for children and the specificity of the activity. More common agricultural practices, such as weeding, planting and harvesting, have greater applicability across other crops.

• However, the biotechnology used in cottonseed production is now becoming more common in other crops, such as chillies, and production in these biotechnology industries will also involve this intensive cross-pollination period with its specific skills and very high and sustained labour demand.

• Cotton production work, like other forms of agriculture, is less labour intensive and requires inputs at different times of year for planting, weeding, and harvesting, and is more commonly carried out on family farms. These factors make it easier than cottonseed production work to combine with reasonably regular educational attendance. Children may miss a few days or a week of school, or be able to do less intensive parts of this family farm work (such as weeding) outside school hours and days.

• While children migrate for cottonseed production work everywhere except in Maharashtra, migration for cotton production work is less common, because peak labour demand is lower.


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4.1.3 Gender differences

Gender differences were also important; although in general there is clear evidence that both boys and girls work, there are differences in the type of work they do. Opinion leaders in Kharbar, Rajasthan, reported that both boys and girls undertake most types of work, including travelling to Gujarat to do both crosspollination and construction work. However, only boys do hotel work in Gujarat and it is mainly the girls who do housework. In Rajasthan, “Both boys and girls do housework. Girls don't usually go out for work…boys go for Bt cottonseed work and hotels. Girls don't usually go.”12 Respondents were also clear that girls do more housework than boys, and that this is additional to their other work. For example, mothers argued that “girls help with housework more…and start work at an earlier age than boys”13, and that “girls do more of livestock, agriculture and household work.”14 Elders agreed that “both boys and girls work on the farms. But girls do more work.”15 Others added, “girls work hard at home…weeding, digging, cutting fodder. Boys don't do anything.”16

In Khadaki and Chandai, in Maharashtra, girls tend to be preferred for the cottonseed pollination work on family farms, such that cottonseed plots are only sown if female child labour is available to work on the land. This has very negative effects on their school attendance, particularly during the peak pollination season. Girls are perceived to be much better at this work, and have higher workloads because they work both at home and in the fields, but receive lower wages when working outside their own family farms. Male child labourers in Chandai Ekko reported that this was because girls will get married earlier.

In Gujarat respondents agree that girls tend to work less outside the home: “girls help more in household work whereas the boys help in outside duties.”17. Fathers confirmed that if a girl “works at home and field she does not have to hear abusive words or comments of others”18. Mothers claimed that “boys are out for work. Children go with their parents to work, especially girls, but they don't go anywhere else to work.”19

Evidence from Gujarat shows that these differences between girls and boys vary largely by caste. Discrimination is more prominent in some communities and is not related to economic status. It appears more entrenched in erstwhile ruling communities, such as the Darbars in Bhuwad. The patriarchal hold appears quite strong in these families: the women are to be confined within the boundaries of the home, and not interact with outsiders. Among Muslims in Bhuwad, girls do not do night-work in agriculture. In both the villages Dalit girls go for work in factories where the wage is higher, but other communities such as Ahirs do not send girls for work in factories, sending them only for agricultural work. Communities like Ahirs and Patels limit girl child work to agriculture, where their survival is historically rooted. Moreover, in Patel and other communities the earnings of the girl are not used for the family but are saved for the marriage of the girl but the wages are not critical for family subsistence. These

12 Child non-labourers, fathers, Kharbar, Rajasthan.

13 Child labourers’ mothers, Khadakaya, Rajasthan.

14 Child non-labourers’ mothers, Khadakaya, Rajasthan.

15 Elders, Kharbar, Rajasthan.

16 Child non-labourers’ elders, Kharbar, Rajasthan. 17 Elders, Bhuwad, Gujarat. 18 Child labourers’ fathers, Samatra, Gujarat. 19 Child labourers’ mothers, Samatra, Gujarat.


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families do not mind if girls leave the household to do work like that of beautician. Work in beauty parlours appeared a preferred option by the Ahir and Patel girls.

4.1.4 Children’s wage activities: findings on advan ce payments and contractors

In Tamil Nadu, many respondents referred to advances, often from work contractors. “Farmers themselves approach children for their work. Often, contracts are renewed in the ensuing seasons leading many children to accept advances. Children who receive advances from their employer are thus obliged to work for him”20

One male child labourer in Salem said “I don’t like going to going to cotton seed work at Attur. My father took advances from middlemen and asked me to work.” Female child labourers in Salem reported that their fathers take advances from the employers without their mothers’ knowledge.

A few respondents identified the role of meths (in Rajasthan) in giving advances to parents to send their children to work (in Gujarat),21 and others referred to debt from hospital or marriage costs.22 Indeed, the relationship of work to marriage and costs and debts incurred around marriage was an important finding. In Khadakaya respondents reported that the situation changed radically after an Adivasi leader (the samaj sangathan) negotiated reductions in the cost of marriage from Rs 150,000 to Rs 10,000, though the impact on child labour was not so clear. There are many focus groups from Rajasthan who report child bondage; “Indebted parents use their children to pay back debt,”23 “Households often get advance from contractors”24.

Meths also discussed the role of advances, pointing out that they were meeting a demand from labourers and their households. A meth in Khadakaya reported “Yes. In June an advance is given. Everyone is given as per the need or demand. Some are paid Rs 500 and some 1000.” An NGO worker in Kharbar took a less rosy view:

“They are trapped because of advances. They are provided with an amount of Rs1000-1500/- and they ask their parents to contribute more money on coming back. If the parents spend the money advanced, they are trapped. If the relations are good or if there are 2-3 children, they are provided with a good amount. They are trapped because of advances. This is the headache.”

Talking about family migration, a Bhagiya explained that children are “helpful for the parents at home as well as in the field. There is no need to appoint an extra labourer.”25 “Our own 20 Female Child Labourers, Salem, Tamil Nadu 21 SDMC member, Kharbar, Rajasthan. 22 Child non-labourers’ fathers, Khadakaya, Rajasthan. 23 Child Non-Labourers’ Fathers, Khadakaya, Rajasthan 24 Child Labourers’ Mothers, Khadakaya, Rajasthan 25 Child labourers’ fathers, Samatra, Gujarat.

While both girls and boys work, girls spend a greater proportion of their time working in the home and are paid relatively lower salaries when working for others.


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labour is not sufficient to do the work taken up, so children have to work”, added the group of Bhagiyas.26 A farmer in Gujarat noted this role of debt for the Bhagiyas explicitly, “When we have labour work in nearby village or farm, we engage them in advance.”27

Again, the secondary audience and opinion leaders in Gujarat were less inclined to discuss debt bondage, arguing that there is no problem of child bondage: "They don’t take advances"28; “No, they are earning and living”29.

4.1.5 Observed practices in school attendance

The data on school attendance suggest that the most relevant research question is at what age children drop out, rather than whether they have ever enrolled or are enrolled currently. The findings seem to suggest that the age at drop-out is highly dependent on socio-economic status (which is highly correlated to caste) and to the physical availability of schools (particularly secondary schools).

Children could be grouped along the following lines:

• Children who miss out primary school entirely. There were very few children in this category. They were found amongst the long-term migrant sharecropping families (mainly an issue in Kachchh) and others with a high degree of uncertainty about tenure or work status; among households in extreme poverty; and among households from source districts where there were extremely poor quality of schools (mainly in tribal areas).

• Children who drop out during primary school. These children seemed to come from poor households, where the need for subsistence forced them to pursue work more intensively (especially among children who migrate for work on cottonseed production) and do more domestic chores (especially girls). Some children also dropped out in primary due to discouragement in their studies and unfavourable teaching practices that drive children out of school.

• Children who drop out after primary. These children seem to come from areas which lack secondary school facilities, especially for girls given that distance and safety are greater concerns. Children who failed in end-of-primary exams and households who were unable to afford the costs of secondary education were also found to drop out after primary.

In terms of gender differences, the available school enrolment data from key informants do not suggest a particularly strong bias in favour of boys at the primary school level, so it is

26 Child labourers’ fathers, Bhuwad, Gujarat. 27 Farmer, Samatra, Gujarat 28 Social Worker, Samatra, Gujarat 29 Opinion Leaders, Samatra, Gujarat

Advances from employers, negotiated through local middlemen known as Meths, effectively bond children. Debts incurred for marriage, ill-health, and other social rituals are a significant factor in pushing families to accept advances.


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possible that this effect is stronger in terms of attendance (for which good data were not easily available), and during the move from primary to secondary school.

Table 4.8 Gender parity in enrolment data

Boys enrolled Girls enrolled % Male

Dharmapuri, Tamil Nadu 255 269 48.66%

Salem, Tamil Nadu 163 157 50.94%

Kharbar, Rajasthan 50 (primary) 132 (middle)

55 (primary) 110 (middle)

Primary = 47.62% Middle = 54.55%

Khadakaya, Rajasthan 126 68 64.95%

Samatra, Gujarat 209 216 49.18%

Bhuwad, Gujarat 183 177 50.83%

Source: Information provided by teachers in interviews.

Moreover, it is clear from the evidence that traditional discriminations against girls still persist in most of the study villages. Though a social worker in Samatra pointed out that discrimination had reduced - "boy children were sent to school and girl children were not but nowadays the discrimination has reduced a lot"30 - elders were quite explicit that “we force [girls] to drop out as they have to look after their younger siblings and house hold works.”31 Other respondents note that a girl “has to do household work along with her studies.”32 The secondary audience also reported discrimination against girls, as an education committee member said “out of 50 children going to secondary school, [only] 10 of them are girls. A government official said only 10% of boys drop out as opposed to 20% girls.33 The opinion of the NGO worker in Dharmapuri was that there is discrimination against girls, and that parents prefer to allocate more education to boys if the resources are very limited, because parents dislike sending their girl children to far off places. Table 4.9 details the child labour practices by the different research groups. The table is explained in more detail below.

30 Social worker, Samatra, Gujarat.

31 Elders, Bhuwad, Gujarat.

32 Child non-labourers’ mothers, Samatra, Gujarat.

33 Education Department Supervisor, Salem, Tamil Nadu.

Most working children attend school at some stage. The relevant factor is therefore at what age they drop out. Moreover, the availability and proximity of secondary schooling also affect attendance, particularly among girls.

In all villages except Khadakaya (where about 65% of school-going children are boys), there is some level of gender parity in enrolment, with about half of all enrolled children being boys and half being girls. However, drop out rates are higher for girls, especially when parents are constrained by limited resources (need girls to look after younger siblings and for house work), distance from school (safety issue for girls), and a traditional custom of son preference.


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Table 4.9 Child labour practices in different state s

Male Child Labourers Female Child Labourers Male C hild Non-Labourers

Female Child Non-Labourers

Additional Information

Dharmapuri, Tamil Nadu

Crosspollination, fetching water well, firewood collection, grazing animals, sowing/tilling, weeding, harvesting. For crosspollination go to Athur stay 3 months and come back - other work is on family farms

Crosspollination, cooking, cleaning premises, grazing animals, sibling care, weeding, harvesting. For crosspollination go to Athur stay 3 months and come back - other work is on family farms

When they have no academic work (mostly April, May and October) they go for crosspollination, labour on own farms, livestock, domestic chores (firewood/water).

All help with domestic chores. During holidays they work on family plots and as wage labourers, including Cottonseed. Work centred in January, May (School holidays) and October.

12 hour days both within and without of the village. Wage in Athur seed work is 60Rs per day.

Salem, Tamil Nadu

“Paid labour for cottonseed is in May-June (own village) and October-Dec (boys migrate to Athur and do not go to school). All boys also perform domestic chores and livestock rearing while they are home.”

Standard practice is to migrate to cottonseed farm between October and December. For the rest of the year they do paid agricultural labour in their own village. Most accept advances.

School regularly and only work in the holidays, many supporting their parents’ profession. Paid wage labour in cottonseed is mostly October-November (but also some in January); all do domestic work

These girls are part time agriculture labourers. They earn Rs.80/- a day. All of them work for 20 to 25 days in a year. Some work on seed farms in the months of October and November mainly during school holidays

Many potential child labourers who work 60-90 days a year; these children have a high incidence of becoming full-time child labourers. Many also work before and after school for an hour or two. Males 80Rs a day, Females 70Rs.

Kharbar, Rajasthan

10 hours work a day. 60-70 Rs a day.

Female child labourers activities include: Cross pollination – on migration to Gujarat – fodder for animals, cleaning, feeding waters, making dung cakes, make food, bring firewood, water, run the gatti (hand grinder for grains and daals).

Do only household work or work on family farms. Many have siblings who work.

Female non child labourers activities include make roti, sabhi, bring water, wash clothes (everyone’s), wash dishes, clean the house (in the morning before school); remove cow dung, clean sheds – after school. Fodder for animals, weeding, harvesting – in family farms. Some older girls went for paid work but only outside school hours or in holidays.

Parents said that every family had at one point sent their children to Gujarat but now they don't. They have become ‘samajdhar’ (intelligent people) and refuse to send their children. Teacher said 50% combine work and education, with no gender difference.


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Khadakaya, Rajasthan

Male child labourers work in cottonseed production, construction work, copper factories, as well as work on family farms and housework.

Activities include crosspollination (10-11 hours a day) as well as agriculture work on family and other farms. Many use NREGA and go instead of their mothers and “When people come to check they just sit down.”

Do household chores, work on family farms and work for a wage during school holidays (get paid 20% less than adults). Study, bring water, herd goats, cows and buffaloes on family farm, wash clothes, take bath, clean the house.

Bring water, make roti, sweep the house, dung collection, study, herd goats, buffaloes, cows, harvesting, digging, weeding, checking in cottonseed plot. Work for a wage during school holidays (get paid 20% less than adults).

Samatra, Gujarat

Work on their own fields, taken on sharecropping by their parents (Bhagiya children). They also go to work in others field.

All reported working in groundnut factories. When the factory was shut they worked in cotton fields. All also did housework. 10-6 with 1 hour for lunch.

Helping in house hold work, like shopping, help in agriculture work, and mostly children are going to school and tuition. During the vacation children are going for agriculture work.

None among the eight works as wage labour but does work in their own farm. The girls does all sort of work in the field. During holidays they help their mother in field.

Most tend to be educated to at least 7th, whether they are now labourers or not. Some boys do leave to work in Kachchh (25kms away) but girls do not travel for work. real divide between castes

Bhuwad, Gujarat

Bhagiya children in Bhuwad work on their own vadi (Farm). If some neighbour calls for wage labour do that. Do not go outside [village] for work.

Do not undertake any work outside of the village. Work from 8-6 in a variety of jobs including cotton work, picking nuts, embroidery, harvesting etc.

The routine works of these boys are small works of household, school, working in the farms and moving there during the holidays. 2/3rds of male child non-labourers did work in their own family farms.

All assist in household work. They do some agricultural work on their own farms and animal husbandry but mostly their time is taken up with school (from 11-5) and homework or tuition.

Opinion leaders quantified. “15 % to 20 % children do the labour work in agriculture, construction. 5 % to 8 % children of the total families go to outstation for labour work”

Khadaki, Maharashtra

Boys do less pollination work than girls. They also do less weeding and more hard tasks (including spraying pesticides, cleaning cow sheds)

Girls do more cross- pollination and less animal related jobs. They also perform more housework (cleaning house, cooking etc, while boys fetch water)

Even though the children are going to school they have to contribute to farm activities not only in the peak season but throughout the day. They do farm work with cotton, maize, chillies and housework.


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Chandai, Maharashtra

Boys do more heavy load work, and work with animals, as well as picking of cotton and cross pollination (less than girls)

Before going to farm the girls do some housework. When it is cross-pollination (polan) season they do that. If there is no polan work then the girls do other agricultural operations as well as taking care of cattle feeding etc between they attend the school and try to give some time for study as well. At home as well the girls do almost every work which women are expected to do

Boys do family farm work because the family labour supply is insufficient. They attend school most of the time but miss it on occasion.

Girls work on the farm, with family income conditions determining how many years children work for. Girls work harder than boys and feel they have to help their mothers. Girls work on pollination (they learn from their mothers), and peeling covers off corn and maize.


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Box 4.3 Summary in terms of Knowledge, Attitudes an d Practices: Comparative analysis of practices in work and schoo ling

This section has highlighted some general trends related to practises in work and schooling. Some of these have important implications in terms of a communications strategy:

1. The choice set available for households with children appears to be between labour and schooling. Leisure and free-time are not valued as a third alternative.

Implications in terms of communication strategy: campaigns aimed at reducing child labour should focus less on the importance of free time and more on the relative advantages of schooling.

2. It is the volume of work performed by children and not the type of work that affects schooling.

Implications in terms of communication strategy: paid labour in cotton fields is not necessarily worse than other forms of household labour in terms of the choice of sending children to school. Children who perform this task should not be stigmatized and the focus of a communications strategy should not be on the negative consequences of paid labour but on the positive impacts of schooling. Moreover, a more subtle approach that accepts labour when it is performed in low volumes/quantity may be more successful than one where labour is discouraged in every form.

3. Both boys and girls work, but girls perform more housework than boys do.

Implications in terms of communication strategy: it is important to note that parents often fear sending their daughters to work in other people’s fields as they believe it is dangerous. Since these dangers are often real, an effective intervention (of which one form could be a communication strategy) would be to improve safety in villages.

4. Girls aspire to different types of jobs than males do, often unavailable locally

Implications in terms of communication strategy: girls indicated a preference for jobs as beauticians and nursing. A communications strategy could capitalize on this by highlighting the importance of education in order to be able to obtain these jobs. However, it would also be advisable to encourage schools to offer some basic training in this direction and help students to follow their vocations. Local women who have succeeded in starting up businesses etc could be used as ‘agents of change’ within the community.

5. Advance payments effectively bond children to their employer. The need for advances is often due to debt due to marriage, illness and other social events

Implications in terms of communication strategy: a communication strategy should be aimed at increasing the acceptability of lower expenses for social events such as weddings. Local leaders should be involved in this as it is a matter of social perception.

6. Most children attend school at some stage. What matters is when children drop out

Implications in terms of communication strategy: more focus should be made on retention of children rather than getting children into schools in the first place. A special focus should be made on the importance of secondary schooling.


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4.2 Detailed description of practices in study vill ages

4.2.1 Gujarat

4.2.1.1 Work practices While children work in cotton production in Kachchh district, the extent of cotton-specific child labour problem was of the same magnitude as child labour in cotton seed production (CSP) in the northern Gujarat districts of Banaskantha and Sabarkantha34. This is probably for the reason that the labour requirement per acre is about 40 person days in cotton picking35 and at least 450 person days for CSP36.

There is certainly cotton related migrant labour in Kachchh. With the increase in Bt cotton cultivation over last few years, the demand for labour has increased accordingly37. This demand is met either by annual farm labourers from the Bhagiya38 community or by other labour gangs that arrive exclusively for cotton picking (the Chusias, for example). While these cotton picking ‘gangs’ do not specifically include child labourers, children accompany their parents and most often end up working on the fields themselves39. Bhagiyas’ and Chusias’ terms of employment involve output targets (in terms of yield) rather than input targets (in terms of hours worked), a factor which contributes to determining the use of child labour as well as adult labour. Moreover, children from these families find it extremely difficult to enrol in local schools, pushing them to work as wage labourers as well as on their parents’ fields.

Child labour in Kachchh is common in several other occupations such as construction (children of SC families), factories (SC families), livestock grazing/tending (Rabari/Muslims/Dataniya), home-based handicraft work (Darbars in particular), and agriculture in general (Ahir/Muslim Families).

Family child labour is also found in households with smallholdings that do not employ Bhagiyas, especially as there is a system of labour exchange among small farmers. In some cases school-going children are removed from school for a day or two to do farm work during

34 Research teams could not find any evidence of the large scale presence of child labour, independently or as a part of kinship based labour gangs in cotton production who arrive in Kachchh specifically for cotton harvesting. 35 Picking cotton is labour intensive. One acre produces about 40-50 mounds of cotton. One labourer can pick one mound of cotton in an eight-hour work day. 40-50 labour days are thus needed per acre of cotton field. 36 This is assuming that 10 labourers are required for cross pollination for 45 days. 37 Note that cotton picking in Kachchh starts from Bhadon/Asoj (approximately August/September) and continues till Mangasar/Posh (November/December). Whereas from Bhadon to Kartik (August to October - Diwali) picking work is available for about 10-15 days in a month, Mangasar (November) is peak time and work is available for the entire month. 38 Bhagiyas are family labour units primarily hired for cotton cultivation, but not exclusively for it. 39 The magnitude of child labour in cotton fields in research areas is difficult to assess, but a rough estimate is possible. In Bhuwad, assuming that there are two child workers per Bhagiya labour unit and there are 100 Bhagiya households (as per the Sarpanch’s range of 100-125), then there are about 200 Bhagiya child labourers out of a village population of 500 households. In Samatra, the Sarpanch reported about 60 Bhagiya households, which would imply 120 child labourers. The two villages therefore may contain over 300 Bhagiya children working in cotton picking. However, there is little information about the proportion of child labour in Chusia households.


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peak harvesting days. Moreover, school-going children from the farming community are involved in farm related work regularly as well as on holidays. Child labour is also used when the family fails to arrange for wage labour on specific days. Such child labour use is not considered as labour by the families, but rather essential help.

Box 4.4 The Chusia

Results from focus groups in Bhuwad and Samatra gave a varied view of the jobs that children are required to do in the area, as exemplified in detail in table 4.1. Though most labourers are involved in cotton picking, they also perform other jobs. For example, a group of local girl child workers in Bhuwad reported doing ten different kinds of paid work at different points of the year, including during the cotton season (information below includes daily wage rates):

(i) Cotton Picking 80/- (ii) MatiKaam- 100/- (iii) Chara- 150/- (iv) Ground Nuts-110/ (v) Til harvesting -100/- (vi) Thresher work-150/- (vii) Harvesting Bajara-150/- (viii) Moong Harvesting- 70/- (ix) Castor harvesting -70/- (ix) Weeding-70/-

In addition to this, the girls reported doing home-based work, such as embroidery and taking care of siblings, live stock related work and domestic chores.40

The situation is no different for the migrant child labourers, the children of Bhagiyas. They reported that they work for:

(i) Til: Nindawan; Irrigation; Kedwu (prepare land for sowing); pua bandhana; holler machine me dalana (ii) Castor: Irrigation; nindawan; picking castors (harvesting); gathering and putting in machine (iii) Gwar fali: Irrigation; nindawan; picking gwar fali; cutting plants for fodder; (iv) Jwar: Harvesting- cutting; puda bandhana;(v) Bajari: Harvesting; cutting plants; cutting bajara fruits (Lanau); puda bandhana; (vi) Ground nut: nindawan; irrigation; spray pesticides,; taking out ground nuts (vii) Cotton: cotton picking; irrigation and spray pesticides (chitakana)-(viii) Moong: cutting, collecting, nindawana,;

40 Child labourers (female), Bhuwad, Gujarat.

Working and living conditions

They live under the open sky on the farm. They wake up early at 3.00 am in the morning, fresh up, cook food and go off for work by 6.00am. They work from six in the morning till seven in the evening. They break for one hour during the day around one o’clock for lunch. After finishing work, they go back and cook, eat and sleep. “Groceries are too expensive over here. We get sugar at Rs.30 per kg while over here it is 36.” They don’t like the food over here.

Wages

For the job they are paid at piece rate – Rs.2/- for collecting one kg of cotton. Ten people together can collect nearly 600kg of cotton for 12-hour work day. They get the full payment for their work after the completing of the work and before going back to their native place. The farmer who requires labour informs them a day earlier and comes to pick themup in the early morning. Compared to local labourers who get Rs. 80 to Rs 100 for six-hour work day, their piece rate wage are low as they get mere Rs120/- work working nearly 12 hours a day- double work hours. The reported net earning for the three-month season is nearly Rs.7000/-.


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putting in holler (ix) Bhindi: irrigation, nindawan and picking- (x) Valol: irrigation, nindawan- (xi) Chuala fali: Irrigation; picking(xii) Kakadi: Irrigation and picking41

It is obvious therefore that the children are primarily agriculture wage labourers and are involved in all kinds of work for all kinds of crops, including cotton-picking.

Moreover, the children of small and marginal farmers help their parents in farm activities including cotton picking. This is not considered as interference in the education. “Our children are not going for work but they help in work”. Another woman said that her elder daughter “waters the farm, helps in picking cotton, works on machines, goes for cow-feeding if she wishes. Daughters help in home work also. They do these activities during the vacation period or in the morning and evening on the day of school; they like to do work one day in a week”. Yet another respondent said, “yes, boys and girls help in the farming activities, water the farm, help in picking cotton, work on machines”42

4.2.1.2 Education practices Despite the clear problems set out in the previous paragraphs, the spread and depth of child labour is low amongst primary school children in Kachchh district. Generally children study up to seventh class and only in small number of households belonging to specific communities – mostly Bhagiyas – drop out is acute. Nevertheless, the problem of school drop outs takes serious proportions after 7th class, when children are 12 or 13 years old, particularly for girls.

The education situation in the selected villages can be briefly summarised as follows:

a. There are certain rich families whose children do not work and only study – in Samatra there are several such families who get their children educated in good private English medium schools;

b. There are certain middle level families who teach their children and also arrange tuitions for them so that they can study better even for upper primary schools;

c. There is a good number of families who get their children educated up to seventh class in village-level schools. Thereafter the child joins the labour force, with a few exceptions. At this level there are also marked gender biases – girls are sent for education in smaller numbers than boys

d. There are certain families whose children are totally deprived of education. They are at a social distance in every way – they live on the outskirts of the village and do not mingle socially with any other community, and are treated like outcasts;

e. The education facilities in terms of building and teachers are adequate in both the villages43. In Bhuwad, however, the building is in two parts, located at a distance. Also there are no fans and benches for students in Samatra. In both villages, there are computers but no teacher to teach informatics.

41 Child labourers (male), Samatra, Gujarat. 42 Child non-labourers’ mothers, Bhuwad, Gujarat. 43 From an infrastructure point of view, Bhuwad contains one primary school, established in 1946, with 360 students across 7 classes (1-7), 7 teachers (6 male 1 female) and 10 rooms. Each class contains 42-66 students with one teacher. Just under half of the students are girls, and the vast majority (238) are from OBCs, with 50 minority students, 34 scheduled caste students and 39 ‘other’ students.


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f. In overall terms it seems clear that the populations of these villages are aware of the need and importance of the education of children. However, the depth and intensity of pursuing children’s education among parents as well as children is quite at variance and it is related to the socio-economic status of the groups.

g. After seventh class most children, especially girls belonging to Dalit, Muslim, and Rabari communities, drop out. With very few exceptions, the only girls that go for higher studies belong to Patel communities. Once the girls drop out they either work at home or do wage labour. Darbar girls do home-based work like embroidery, sewing and bandini. It is necessary for them to do this work because their products form part of the dowry of the girl at the time of marriage. Girls of Muslim and Dalit families after leaving school usually do wage labour.

The village of Samatra can be used as an example of the profound impacts of social segregation on schooling.

- The village has a total of 1000-1200 children between the age of 5 and 15. 423 students are enrolled in the village primary school. From Samatra, around 100 children go to English medium schools in Sukhpar, and 54 students beyond 8th class study outside the village.

- There are two Anganwadi centres in the village and one nursery school. This nursery school is run by leaders of the Patels. Most of the attending children are from the Patel community. Children belonging to other lower caste communities like Rabari, Muslims and Dalits are not given admission in this nursery school. Government Anganwadi centres are located near the Muslim, Rabari and Dalit community areas, and cater to their children44.

- Boys from Patel families after class 7th go for further studies in a nearby Gurukul school. However, respondents reported that children belonging to communities like Dalits are not given admission in Gurukul. This Gurukul is in Madkuan village, about three kilometres on main road going towards Nakhatarana and it is managed by Patels.

- In Samatra village there is an educational trust called the Levua Patel Education Trust. This Trust collects donations and uses the money for education purposes in the school, giving prizes, arranging educational tours, spending on infrastructure and so on. The trust also provides tuition to students at nominal price. Although the classes are open to everyone, 90% children are from Patel communities.

- In the government school, although enrolment is above 400, the MDM is served to only about 200 children belonging to Dalit, Muslim, and Rabari communities. The Patel children do not eat mid-day meals (MDM), apparently because Dalits eat there as well. There is no kitchen to cook MDM in the school.

- Educational levels are lowest among the Koli and Jogi communities. No one could be traced with education higher than seventh. Their children either do not attend school or if some attend they drop out after fourth once they have some strength to work. By the 4th class girls from these communities have left school.

44 Note that the AWW said that there is direction from officials that the recorded number of children in Anganwadi centres should not exceed 25 even if the actual number of children attending the Anganwadi centre is 100. In both Anganwadi centres the number of children was more than 100.


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4.2.2 Rajasthan

4.2.2.1 Work practices In Rajasthan, the picture is simpler, partly because Udaipur district was chosen as one of the main suppliers of children to work on cottonseed production in Gujarat. Most labouring children therefore work on cross-pollination in northern Gujarat. Some labouring children from Khadakaya reported working in construction or copper factories (male children) and on NREGA works (female children). Typically, children reported receiving wages that are lower than adults’ by at least 20%.

Our research identified five types of children in Rajasthan:

1. Children involved in full time education: There are such children but very few. Such children are usually at a higher level of studies – they are seen to be ‘good’ at studies (i.e. economic returns to education are expected to be high) and are therefore pampered in a sense. They are exempted from doing any work. They usually are staying outside the village – in hostels or rented rooms

2. Children who combine paid work with education: There are several such children who combine paid work during holidays and pursue education otherwise. Such children were found more in Khadakaya then in Kharbar. The money earned by such children is partly used to finance their own education and partly added to family income.

3. Children who combine housework and education: These children do all kinds of work at home – domestic chores, farm work, work related to livestock and so on.

4. Dropouts: these children and children who combine housework and education are roughly equal in size and constitute the majority of the children. Several of the dropped out children go for paid work at different age levels or involved in unpaid work as well.

5. Children who have never gone to school: This category is small in number but is there in both the villages. Girls in this category are common in Khadakaya.

4.2.2.2 Education practices For the children of the area the current reality is that work and education are inseparable. The five categories of children discussed above refer to all age categories of children. However, a definite pattern can be seen with children age 12-14 onwards: the majority drop out by the time they reach the final year of upper primary level. The majority of girls do not even reach beyond fifth class. In Kharbar, it was reported that children are usually enrolled but there is drop out by September. Dropouts are mostly in first/second class and sixth class45.

Moreover, lack of infrastructure was reported in both Kharbar and Khadakaya, in particular in the middle school. Both villages have one primary/upper primary (classes 1-8) school each. In Khadakaya, the school does not have enough rooms (only two for eight classes) so the classes are held under the tree; on the veranda, and in the community centre. Both schools lack playgrounds. In Khadakaya, all three schools lack a playground. In Kharbar, there is land for a playground but it needs to be prepared.

The inadequate number of teachers in middle school emerged as a major problem in both the villages. Only three qualified teachers are posted in each of the two schools. This is a

45 As per IDI of SDMC member of Kharbar


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widely known fact. Efforts made over the years have not resulted in any improvement in the situation.

Table 4.10 Middle schools in Rajasthan

Item/Description Kharbar A Khadakaya 1 Classes 1 to 8 1 to 8 2 Date of Inception 1997 28-3-2008 3 Enrolment 352 196 4 Rooms 10+HM+Hall+Kitchen 2+HM. No Kitchen 5 Teachers 2+HM+PT+1 Para Teacher 2+HM+2Help 6 Current Teacher

Requirement as per HM 10+HM+ 1 Coordinator for dak 8+HM

7 Drinking Water Hand pump with school premises

Hand pump not working

8 Toilet Not functioning No toilets 9 Playground Land but not developed Not even land 10 Boundary wall Yes No 11 Catchment area for 6-8

classes 11PS of which Six PS of Kharbar A

2 PS

12 SDMC Meet regularly Not working 13 Library 1000 books does not operate No record- does not

operate 14 Max children in one class 100 in eight class 35 in class II Sources: IDI of HM; SDMC Member; Observation by Researchers

In terms of facilities, there are no toilets, or they are not functioning, in both the villages. In Khadakaya there is also no drinking water facility. Children get water from a distance. The hand pump near the school has not worked for the last two years.

To promote community participation, the Government has set up a School Development and Management Committee (SDMC) for each of the schools46. In Kharbar the SDMC meets regularly but there were no records for Khadakaya. In Kharbar the SDMC has 11 members – two are staff members and nine parents – and meets every fortnight, although some members do not attend regularly.

Every group confirmed that in the majority of the households there is a mix of school going children and children who do not go to school. Among those not going to school are ones who have never been to school, while more common are those children who dropped out at some stage. There are several families with girls who have never been to school but have a boy in college or school47.

4.2.3 Tamil Nadu

In Tamil Nadu, research teams found similar categories of workers:

1. Full time workers who have never been to school or dropped out of school

46 The main functions of the SDMC include: (i) Looking after the construction activities of the school (ii) Bringing back drop outs (iii) Ensuring that the MDM is properly prepared and served (iv) Planning and implementing sports and cultural programmes in the school (v) Taking measures to generate awareness like taking out rally for immunisation. 47 A detailed analysis of this aspect of is included in the last part under heading ‘gender discrimination’.


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2. Seasonal workers who are taken out of school during cotton cross pollination and harvesting

3. School holiday workers who work only on school holidays and Sundays 4. Part time workers who attend school regularly but work before and after school In Dharmapuri, a source district for child labourers, children were reported working in a range of industries, including cottonseed, garment factory, and construction work, and work rearing livestock for males in villages other than their own. This work involved 12 hour days both within and outside the village, for wages of Rs60 per day. While boys tend to work more on fields, girls have household work (cleaning, cooking and looking after siblings) for 3 hours, as well as 10 hours of fieldwork. Those who attend school work on fields in their holidays. Around half of the male school holiday workers live in a hostel connected to a secondary school. They only undertake labour when they have no academic work (April, May and October), and this labour usually takes the form of working on their family owned farms. All the female school holiday workers live in a hostel connected to school and travel home to their villages at weekends. They all help with domestic chores. During holidays they work on family plots and as wage labourers, usually in January, May (school holidays) and October.

In Salem, the usual practice for full-time male child labourers seems to be to work on cottonseed pollination in May-June (in their own village) and October-December (when boys migrate to Athur and do not go to school). All boys also perform domestic chores and livestock rearing while they are home. Female child labourers tend to migrate to cottonseed farms between October and December, and for the rest of the year do paid agricultural labour in their own village. Most accept advances. According to some girls, they earn Rs10 less than boys (as girls earn Rs70 and boys Rs80).48 Male and female child non-labourers attend school regularly and only work in the holidays, many supporting their parents’ profession. Girls have a higher tendency to work in agriculture. All do domestic chores. There are also many seasonal child labourers who work 60-90 days a year on cottonseed pollination but attend school throughout the rest of the year. These children have a high incidence of school drop-out (becoming full-time child labourers). Many also work before and after school for an hour or two.

4.2.4 Maharashtra

In Maharashtra, similar categories of child workers can be identified:

1. Full-time workers are those children who have never been to school or have dropped out from school (10%)

2. Seasonal workers are those children taken out of school to work during cotton cross pollination and harvesting activities (20-25%)

3. School Holiday Workers are those children working only on school holidays and Sundays (i.e. are not taken out of school) (More than 65%)

In Jalna, cottonseed production is undertaken by family units and very few outside labourers are employed (confirming findings in the recce visit), but at peak season children may also work outside the family farm (when their families do not cultivate cotton) on other family farms. Households grow seed on their plots only when they have girls available in the family

48 Child labourers (female), Salem, Tamil Nadu.


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to work on them. Typically, families choose to use the thread technique of pollination (known as dora pungali) since this produces high quality seeds. Since the pollination work is largely undertaken by families, there are no costs for labour, and the work falls outside existing laws on child labour, and is generally perceived as child work.

Families decide the plot size on the basis of the availability of labour within the household, including children. Girl children are strongly preferred for this labour, with some families stopping seed plots when their girl children marry out of the household, and increase the area when girl children marry in into the household. Family labour is preferred because the work is quality intensive. The unusual prevalence of family cottonseed farms in Jalna is also related to a propitious climate and small landholdings, combined with a low number of landless households and therefore a shortage in the supply of labour. Seed production generates a higher income than other agricultural crops.

Full-time workers work not only on cotton production, but all aspects of family farms. They have no fixed wage rate but are given Rs5-10 / day or a promise of clothes at festival time. Part-time workers work in mornings, evenings and holidays.

Children also work on other farms, when their own families do not need their labour. Both boys and girls work on other farms, but boys and girls agreed that girls do more work. On these farms, girls do ‘polan’ work, at which they are faster and more nimble than boys, but for which they receive lower wages (Rs70) than boys (Rs100), who do heavier work. Children noted that if you work outside your family farm you get more money, but girls rarely go alone because they are more vulnerable, so they will travel with their relatives or friends who are going to work. Working hours are 9.30am to 6pm, and wages are paid in full every week.


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Figure 4.2 ‘My Day’ activity, Chandai, Maharashtra


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Box 4.5 Summary in terms of Knowledge, Attitudes an d Practices: Detailed description of practices in study areas

While the state and village-level detail of knowledge, attitudes and practices in relation to education will be explored further on in the report, this section – aimed at highlighting the main practices in terms of education and employment in the study areas – also stresses some important points:

1. In Gujarat, Kachchh district does not have a huge problem of child labour, though many children of migrant labourers also work in the fields and are effectively excluded from education.

• Widespread perception that “children do not work, they simply help with work”

• Important to tackle certain social groups specifically. For example the Chusiya migrant workers.

• General awareness about the need for schooling, though practises were related to socio-economic status.

• Not only poor households cannot afford to send their children to school, but also higher caste families do not accept to share schooling with lower classes (this attitude needs to be changed)

• Excluded communities include Dalit, Muslim, Rabari, Darbar. Patel community finance education only for their own people.

• Large drop-out after 7th class, for girls specifically. Focus of communication strategies should therefore have a gender dimension and stress the importance of secondary schooling.

2. In Rajasthan, labour and education are combined and both are seen to have positive returns. Households and children incline towards work because of the lack of schooling infrastructure and lack of teachers. It would be unadvisable therefore to focus a communication strategy primarily on the benefits of schooling as availability and quality of education is so low in this area.

3. In Tamil Nadu, children appear to work mostly on family farms and during vacations. Both boys and girls perform housework, though performing different tasks. Many also work before and after school. The two villages offered hostels for children who live far from the schools, a very important factor in guaranteeing access.

Experience from Tamil Nadu shows that some forms of labour can be complementary to schooling, especially if they are within a protected environment.

• Moreover, it shows the importance of the provision of educational infrastructure.

• Note that different categories of workers should also be approached in a different way through a communication strategy.

• Full time workers who have never been to school or dropped out of school

• Seasonal workers who are taken out of school during cotton cross pollination and harvesting

• School holiday workers who work only on school holidays and Sundays

• Part time workers who attend school regularly but work before and after school

4. In Maharashtra, most children (some 65%) work only during school holidays and Sundays. Some 25% are seasonal workers who work on harvesting and cross-pollination and only 10% are full time workers. The presence of cotton seed in the area and the need for cross-pollination affects labouring patterns negatively – an issue that should be tackled separately from child labour in general as households perceive pollination as being a ‘job for children’.


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5 Understanding the household decision making process on child work and schooling

5.1 Who makes decisions?

The conceptual framework posits that households are not monolithic units. Rather, they contain individuals with different interests and attitudes. In some households, children may make decisions about what they do; in others, their parents may decide. Who decides is important because reducing child labour will primarily involve trying to work with that decision-maker. The framework assumes that the decision-maker will vary depending on the household’s cultural background and economic status. The research shows that the decision over whether or not to attend school is taken by different people in each state. Generally, where children and parents agree (i.e. both want the child to go to school), the decision is portrayed as the child’s, and where they disagree, the parent usually prevails, except in Rajasthan, where children may work even if their parents protest. In Tamil Nadu, parents are in charge of decisions in their view and in the view of children. In Rajasthan, however, children have a much freer role in the decision, while in Gujarat the picture is more mixed depending on the social grouping.

5.1.1 Patterns across villages

The decision-maker varied substantially across states, which would imply different targets for any communications strategies by state. It also depends whether the child in question is a boy or a girl, with boys generally given greater degrees of independence in choices to work or not.

In Salem and Dharmapuri, in Tamil Nadu, the research found no respondents that said that male or female children have a say in the decision about going to work, with this decision made by parents or elders. For example, mothers of child labourers in Dharmapuri report that “They never express any choice. They go and work, where we want them to work.” They felt that the decision over their children’s education was theirs alone: “Yes, we only will decide what our child should do. As parents we decide it. We will have powers on that.”49 In Tamil Nadu, therefore, the decision was principally made by the parents, apparently discussing this together.

In Chandai Ekko and Khadaki, in Maharashtra, parents tend to make decisions on whether their children work, and even make decisions about plot cultivation depending on the availability of child labour in the families. Male and female child labourers felt that their parents would make decisions about whether they should go to work, particularly when there are family problems or when the household is particularly poor. As male child labourers in Khadaki put it, “most of the time the parents decide to send the child to work because of some family problems.” Female child labourers in Khadaki mentioned that they were sometimes unhappy with decisions to send them to work, but they also realised the family situation. In a role play put on by female child labourers from Khadaki, “the girl was asked to go in the farm as there was work putting fertilizer. The girl said that if she does not go to school the teacher scolds her. The mother pressurized the child by saying that the girl should not say any thing and should go to farm. Finally the child accepted the decision.”50 Child

49 Child non-labourers’ mothers, Salem, Tamil Nadu. 50Report by researchers of role play, child labourers (female), Khadaki, Maharashtra.


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labourers in Chandai Ekko presented the same picture, although fathers seemed to play a final role there. Children may also choose to work, and parents rarely complain about this.

In Bhuwad and Salem, in Gujarat, parents also seem mostly to make decisions about work. For example, male child labourers in Samatra report that "we have to go and work even if we don’t like to, as our parents have asked us to work," and female non-labourers in Samatra agree that "even if children don’t like to work and parents force the child to go for work, then child has to obey them." However, in many households parents will ask children whether they want to study, and when they do not they are sent to work. Some children report making their own decisions about whether to go to school, where parents are happy with this, but that their parents play a role by sending them to work if they choose not to attend school. Male child labourers felt that a “child would drop out from the school because he did not like school,” a dislike exacerbated because the children only receive half the amount of the scholarship that is given to them to go to school (children felt that the school claims the other half for uniforms that are anyway free from government).51 In Bhuwad, (Bhagiya) male child labourers felt that it is better to work than roam around at home, or that they do not like to study. Their parents agreed: “We had sent our children to schools 3-4 times but they came back. The make excuses of drinking water, going to toilet etc., and do not pay attention in their studies. If you can educate our children, we are ready to send them, we do not refuse to it, but our children do not want to study.”52

In Kharbar and Khadakaya, in Rajasthan, however, children play a much more significant decision-making role. While parents and elders still exert some control and in some cases may send their children to work, children are often cited as the primary decision-makers. To some extent this reflects norms of tribal groups in Rajasthan with whom research was carried out, and who are the main workers on cotton fields in Gujarat. Several quotes from children and parents emphasise the role of children in making decisions: “Children are never forced to go to work by the parents. There are no instances when children do not want to go, but parents force them.”53 Mothers and fathers in both villages agree that “the children go out on their own preference. All the mothers whose children went this year said they went on their own,”54 and that “children do not go on our command. If we tell them and they do not wish to go then they would not go…if children have desire to go then only she would go, parents force does not work.”55 In Rajasthan, female child labourers noted that “your parents never send you to kapas [cotton], you go by yourself…you get money when you go to work, but you don’t get money in school.”56 Parents, for their part, note children’s greater independence now: “Sometimes, children are not interested. They don't listen to parents. In our days, children never did anything beyond parents’ wishes.”57 Mothers of non-labourers in Rajasthan noted that “sometimes, they go off to play with their friends but tell us they went to school.”58 The same group had many stories of children refusing to go, even after parents had bought them books and uniform: “she blankly refused and never told them the reason.”59 51 Child labourers (male), Samatra, Gujarat. 52 Child labourers’ mothers, Bhuwad, Gujarat. 53 Child non-labourers (male), Kharbar, Rajasthan. 54 Child labourers’ mothers, Kharbar, Rajasthan 55 Child labourers’ fathers, Khadakaya, Rajasthan. 56 Child labourers (female), Kharbar, Rajasthan. 57 Child non-labourers’ fathers, Kharbar, Rajasthan. 58 Child non-labourers’ mothers, Kharbar, Rajasthan. 59 Child non-labourers’ mothers, Kharbar, Rajasthan.


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Mothers of labourers felt the same: “we send them to school, but if they don’t study what can we do?”60

In some other cases in Rajasthan, the role of parents was more strongly emphasised. First, one group of child labourers suggested that they would ask their parents for permission, and that they “chose to go with friends for cotton work but when asked parent they agreed.”61 Second, within some households it is still the parents who make the decision for their children. For instance, female child non-labourers in Kharbar suggested that “we are not working because our parents want us to go to school…for those who do work, parents send them because they need money,” and the group of male child labourers in Kharbar was split between whether the boys themselves decide, or whether parents decided. It seems likely that parents decide to send their children to work when households are extremely poor and need additional income (see also Custer et al 2005 for further examples of this). For wealthier households, differences in who make decisions probably reflect differences in the composition and personalities within each household, rather than any more structural or observable characteristics.

5.1.2 What influences who makes decisions?

The section above shows some variation in the decision-maker. At first sight, it is not obvious that the decision-maker varies with economic status, since very poor households in Rajasthan and very poor households in Tamil Nadu have very different normal decision-makers (children and parents). In the first instance, culture plays a very strong role, with tribal culture in Rajasthan in its permissiveness and openness allowing a much stronger role for children in determining the direction of their own lives from an early age.62 More conservative social groups in Gujarat (particularly) allow children much less freedom, including in making decisions about their future.

However, beyond this first cultural cut, economic status clearly plays a role. When households are struggling for basic subsistence, parents are likely to insist that (at least) some children in their households work. If children happen to agree with them (either because they perceive the tradeoffs as beneficial to them or because they recognise the poverty of the household), then the decision may be portrayed by respondents as the child’s, but this is only because the child makes the same decision as the parent.

Where subsistence is not an issue, parents may delegate the decision to the child, framing it as a choice between work and school (even if the child would prefer more leisure). Yet children are usually only afforded this decision up to the end of upper primary, after which shortages in educational supply mean that there is no longer an option to go to school.

60 Child labourers’ mothers, Khadakaya, Rajasthan.

61 Child labourers (male), Khadakaya, Rajasthan

62 In general terms only of course. There are significant variations between different tribes in Rajasthan that are beyond the scope of the present report.

Parents seem to mostly make the decision about whether to send a child to work in all states except Rajasthan, where children play an active role in the decision.


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Boys are often allowed marginally to make more decisions than girls, but in Rajasthan where children make decisions, gender makes little difference. However, girls’ choices may be more circumscribed than boys’, in that, for instance, they are not allowed to choose activities that involve them travelling on their own.

5.2 Decisions over child work

According to respondents, there are several positive returns to work, ranging across direct income, future productivity, developmental benefits, social benefits, and immediate well-being benefits. However, there are also negative consequences of this choice, including harm caused to children and the possibility of penalties.63

There are two types of households containing children working and not in school. First, most children not attending school were in households that also contained children in school (who also worked). In other words, some children attend school (often those who are more successful or enthusiastic in school or who are luckier – e.g. they have not been ill; or younger girls in a relatively large family are more likely than older girls – who help with younger siblings and household/domestic chores – in the same family to attend school), and others do not.64 In these households, decision-makers perceived some positive returns to schooling and were able to satisfy subsistence needs and external obligations without using all child labour resources, meaning some children went to school. Second, some households contain no children who attend school – more often from specific excluded groups of migrants or marginalised castes. This seemed to apply particularly in Bhuwad in Gujarat, where all members of the Chusia, Bhagiya, Dataniya and Dalit communities were frequently reported as missing school. Decision-makers in these households perceived low expected returns to education and high expected returns to work, needed child labour to meet subsistence needs or external obligations, and were subject to social norms supporting child labour.

63 Other negative consequences, such as missing school, are considered as positive payoffs to school attendance in the next section. 64 See e.g. Social worker, Samatra, Gujarat.

What influences who makes the decision on whether to send a child to school or not? Cultural factors on one side (see for example tribal permissiveness in Rajasthan) and economic status on the other (in poor households, parents need to make the decision on whether they need additional income).

Most households contain some children who are in school and some that are not, confirming that households are not monolithic entities that are either in favour or against schooling. Families simply make decisions based on constraints and opportunities. In some cases, socially and economically excluded groups such as low income migrant labourers don’t send any of their children to school.


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5.2.1 Perceived benefits of child work

5.2.1.1 Direct income to the individual and househo ld Most child labour takes place because households are unable to satisfy their subsistence and asset management needs using solely adult labour. Households need the cash to buy food and other basic goods, and need children to tend animals, work on their farms, and do domestic chores. Respondents’ most commonly cited reason for child labour was poverty, and more specifically the need for children’s earnings to pay for food needs in many households. Three times as many people mentioned being poor or poverty than mentioned any other reason. One father of a child worker in Dharmapuri in Tamil Nadu put it as such, “I have a large family. If my children do not work how will I feed all the mouths with my meagre earnings?” Child labourers in Dharmapuri said the same thing: "The amounts I earn help my parents comfort a little as we are poor."65 All respondents felt that they worked because of poverty, with parents choosing to send children to work, even though “parents don’t like sending us to work…only poor conditions drive us or others to work.”66 Fathers in Tamil Nadu emphasised their lack of options: “We feel bad for our children, as other children are going to school; my children are going for work. But what can I do, we have no option else than sending them to work.”67 In Gujarat, mothers of child labourers were quite explicit that:

“When they are able to work we pick them up from the school, so that they may help us by earning a little money. We do not send them to school because of economic reasons. In these circumstances we need them to work.”68

Elders agreed: children stay in school for some time and then leave for agricultural or construction work.69 In Maharashtra, child labourers in both study villages argued that “when there is poverty the child becomes a source of earning” for the household.70 Some opinion leaders also felt that child labour was bad but that children’s wages were needed to help poor households. For example, opinion leaders in Dharmapuri felt that “it is wrong to send children to work. But the wages brought by children help the poor.”71

In some cases, adults expressed a preference for meeting household income needs through their own labour, but argued that employers would not employ them. In Salem fathers of child non-labourers argued that

“farmers don’t want us. They want only children to work on their farms Vivasayinga eangala intha velaiyiala iduptutha virumpurathilla. Avanga kulanthaigala than velaiiku vaikka virumaparanga [they work fast, well and do not mind working long hours].”

As an employer in Salem put it "one child can do the work of two adults.” In some sectors, it may be true that employers prefer to employ children to adults (often based more on the low

65 Child labourers (male), Dharmapuri, Tamil Nadu. 66 Child non-labourers (male), Dharmapuri, Tamil Nadu. Also reported by parents of child labourers, and of non-labourers, Salem, Tamil Nadu, Kharbar and Khadakaya, Rajasthan, and Samatra, Gujarat. 67 Child labourers’ fathers, Dharmapuri, Tamil Nadu 68 Child labourers’ mothers, Samatra, Gujarat. 69 Elders, Samatra, Gujarat. 70 Child labourer (male), Khadaki, Maharashtra. 71 Opinion leaders, Dharmapuri, Tamil Nadu.


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wages they can be paid than on their children’s superior abilities). However, it is not clear that adults are usually underemployed, as these fathers in Salem suggest. Rather, the problem appears to be that adults are unable to obtain sufficient incomes themselves to cover subsistence needs, and this necessitates child labour.

Better adult employment opportunities and income, and better opportunities in children’s own villages can reduce the need to migrate (which damages school prospects). For example, respondents in Udaipur noted a reduction in migration for work, due do increased employment opportunities in the village: “every family had at one point sent their children to Gujarat. But now they don't. They have become ‘samajdhar’ (intelligent people) and refuse to let their children go to Gujarat. There is also no need now. There is work in and around the village. There is some work going on – road, nehar;”72

In many cases, children were required to earn income to cover their own costs – of marriage or education, or their own consumption needs. In Gujarat, for example, opinion leaders in Samatra refer to the need to pay for marriage expenses: "post the 7th standard mostly girls are not going to school for further study; After that they are working and collecting money for her marriage; No parent use their daughter’s earning money so like this way their own money will become helpful to them." Other examples include having to pay for school fees and expenses: school-going children in Salem reported that “we have to work and the wages we earn help us meet certain expenses like paying fee, buying books and clothes etc.”73 In Maharashtra, female child labourers in Chandai Ekko referred directly to the benefits of “earning money for ourselves,” that could be used to “spend on luxurious things.” Thus particularly where children are involved in the decision to work, direct income benefits are significant motivators

5.2.1.2 The role of debt Debt was identified almost everywhere as a key driver of work. Debt was of three types. First, general household debt that required additional income to pay off. Second, debt from advances received on the basis of children’s promised work. Third, debt accumulated from exploitative sharecropping relations where sharecroppers were unable to cultivate enough to repay input loans, for which entire households had to work for landowners.

Four mothers of child labourers in Salem said they sent their children to work in order to pay off debts. Fathers seem to play a particular role in accumulating debt in Tamil Nadu, sometimes even without telling mothers. Fathers in Salem admitted that they pay off debts (sometimes accumulated from loans for marriage) partly with children’s earnings. Elders in Dharmapuri agreed that “sometimes children work to pay off the debts.” Two of the

72 Child Non-Labourers’ Fathers, Kharbar, Rajasthan 73 Child non-labourers (male), Salem, Tamil Nadu

Child labour was most commonly required to cover subsistence needs, with ‘poverty’ the most frequently cited reason for child labour. In some cases, adults expressed a preference for meeting household income needs through their own labour, but argued that employers would not employ them. Moreover, at times, child labour was considered necessary to cover costs related to education and marriage.


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respondents said “their labour was pledged to pay off the debts their parents raised.” Another respondent said that his “two grandsons worked for some time to pay off a debt.”

In any case, the terms of the loans appear adverse. The opinion leaders continued that the “PTA President intervened in between said “we are farmers, we are taking loans (implying the poor families) at an interest of Rs.3/- and Rs.4/-. If three persons from a family go for wage labour they earn Rs.400 to Rs.500/-. We are becoming poor by taking loans from them”.

Opinion leaders in Rajasthan were clear about the role of debt:

“There are also families who get their older ones married after taking credit and leave the village with the younger ones to pay the debts. There is a person who got his first child married and then he left to Kadi for 3 months with 3 younger children. There are also other expenses for which people enter into debts – hospitalization costs. We know that there is concession for BPL families in treatment, but we don't have access to this scheme. People have to go to Kalals to keep our families alive. 100-150 families have debts with Kalals – from 10,000Rs to 50,000Rs. If a person cannot pay up on a fixed date, they bring a vehicle and add the vehicle cost also to the debt. Such credit is carried up to generations. It is a matter of honour not to eat up money and keep the word. So, people try to pay up as much as they can.”74

In Maharashtra the focus group of child labouring females from Chandai reported

“If there are some difficulties at home then loan has to be taken, the loan is taken if someone is ill, if there is some function in the family, if there is marriage of elder daughter. The loan amount varies from two to five thousand; because of this [loan] we have to go for work / or work when there is season.”

In Gujarat, the Bhagiya households are typically heavily indebted and are compelled to stay in sharecropping as they earn less than they consume75. Even farmers referred to the role of debt in keeping their children from school. A farmer in Bhuwad commented that the

“child had a wish to study but we denied them. On the one hand, he was needed to cultivate land. In addition to this, the family was in debt which had to be repaid. One son worked outside and earned Rs. 4000. The rate of interest is 2% per month. The rich people give the loan. No hypothecation is necessary. Usually we have land. Not go to money lender for taking the money.”

74 Opinion Leaders, Khadakaya, Rajasthan 75 Bhagiya focus groups report big debts forcing them to work, along with their children; “All responded that children have to work to repay the debts. On further probing the two respondents said that for social ceremonies they take loan and current liability is to the extent of rupees 50-60 thousand. One said 15,000; another said 8,000; and fifth respondent said 20,000. Five said: Drop out and work to repay debts. Two said that some times what we earn is less than what we consume here doing work as sharecropper because of which we are forced to stay back for another year so as to clear the account”.

Debt is an extremely important driving factor for child labour. Households have a feeling that they ‘have no choice’ as they are stuck in a vicious cycle. Strategies to reduce child labour should include training in financial management and focus on the importance of reducing behaviours that push families to incur debt (ex. expensive marriages)


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5.2.1.3 Future productivity and job security Some study participants argued that child labour has positive returns for future earnings. In particular, it teaches children skills that enhances their future productivity and employability in the markets in which they are likely to work. This was directly related to strong pessimism about their abilities to find skilled employment, and therefore a perception that education would have scant influence on productivity. For example, elders in Dharmapuri argued that "these days most of the children are going to schools. It would be better if they do both [work and school].” Children in Dharmapuri and Salem agreed that work gives them a skill that is useful in the future. Some parents are more explicit that they do not see education as a guarantee of finding work, and doing work operates as an insurance policy to improve qualifications for more work in future:

“Children have to learn every work- social, agricultural work, house work. If [he doesn’t work and] nothing happens in education then he would be good neither for labour nor for job/service.”76

In Maharashtra, children saw labour as a chance to learn new skills, particularly in Chandai Ekko. This may reflect very narrow employment possibilities and hence a belief that cotton skills will be important when they grow up. In Samatra and Bhuwad, Rabari families saw their future only in their traditional work of grazing livestock, and Bhagiyas and Ahirs consider agricultural work as their primary means of survival, meaning that work for children was useful for future productivity but schooling was not. Therefore they want their children learn that even at the cost of education. For example, Rabari boys learn how to blow whistles to control the movement of their livestock and are able to identify one cow in herd of 200 – important skills for grazing – at an early age and all in the family feel comfortable doing this kind of work. They don’t feel very comfortable within the confines of the schools. One of the Bhagiyas interviewed by the research team commented that “our children learn to do agriculture work as the Rabari’s children learn to hold a stick (to manage livestock taken for grazing).”

5.2.1.4 Developmental benefits Some primary audience members – particularly parents of labourers – saw work as an important part of the development of children as well as an opportunity to learn important skills for the future. For example, a father of a child labourer in Dharmapuri reports that “I don’t have any repentance for sending children to work, because it helps them withstand the pressures they face in future.” Mothers of child labourers in Kharbar also felt that “even if you study and have a job, you have to do housework. There is no problem with doing work.” Elders in Samatra in Gujarat agreed that “there is no harm if a child works. If he works properly he is able to earn and run a family well,” and fathers of child labourers in Bhuwad

76 Child non-labourers’ fathers, Khadakaya, Rajasthan

Households had a common perception that child labour teaches children skills that enhance their future productivity and employability in the markets in which they are likely to work. This was directly related to strong pessimism about their abilities to find skilled employment, and therefore a perception that education would have scant influence on productivity.


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felt that “children should do all works." In Chandai Ekko in Maharashtra, but not in Khadaki, children felt that work “makes one independent,”77 and “gives exercise to the body.”78

Some opinion leaders also suggested that work confers benefits on a child’s development. For example, opinion leaders in Bhuwad suggested that “work is a duty. A boy aged 15-16 has a sense that work should be done.” In Dharmapuri, an SHG member argued that work was a reasonable activity for some children who know how to get things done…and others should stay home.”79 However, in Salem, opinion leaders felt that labour may “benefit [children] now, and in future they may lose, and it may hamper their development too.”

5.2.1.5 Social benefits: marriage Work is also felt to have positive returns for children in the marriage market.. In Gujarat in particular, respondents argued that girls need to learn to work (particularly on housework) so they do not embarrass themselves in front of their prospective in-laws. According to child labourers’ fathers, by working “girls become “sanskari” (cultured) and are more attractive to prospective husbands.” Child labourers’ mothers in Dharmapuri argued that “if girls don’t learn work now, we will be blamed by her in laws”. As noted above, primary audience respondents were often optimistic about the skills that children would learn at work.

5.2.1.6 Immediate well-being benefits Many children spoke of the enjoyment they derive from work when they have travelled away from home, and this was probably the most significant reason why children themselves would decide to travel for work. Children in each research area except Gujarat discussed the benefits and excitement of going away with their friends. Non labourers referred to making friends as a reason why their peers worked – see Table 5.11. In Rajasthan, for instance, female non-labourers noted that you can “earn money, buy stuff, go around and have fun with friends.”

Child labourers also argue that going to work can be fun, since it allows them to socialise with and make new friends. Female child labourers in Chandai Ekko in Maharashtra, for instance, suggested that child labour gives the chance to chat with friends. In Tamil Nadu, labourers all referred to having fun. In Kharbar, work in cottonseed pollination was seen as particularly beneficial: “paisa kamane aur majha lene [we want to earn money and have fun]…there is more time in this work than other forms of work (hotels, construction). If you

77 Child labourers (male), Chandai Ekko, Maharashtra. 78 Child labourers (female), Chandai Ekko, Maharashtra. 79 SHG member, Dharmapuri, Tamil Nadu.

Some primary audience members – particularly parents of labourers – saw work as an important part of the development of children as well as an opportunity to learn important skills for the future.

Parents felt that work has positive returns for marriage. Women who had experience working were perceived to be more attractive to their prospective in-laws.


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are fast you get more time. Each one is given enough work and when you finish your line you are free to do anything else”.80

In Gujarat, however, children had a much more negative view of work, and only one group of labourers refer at all to immediate benefits for their well-being. This may be because decisions to work are taken more by parents, and in the case of the Bhagiya children interviewed, work was part of their family structures. Poor children from Gujarat rarely left the village to work, because their work was largely on sharecropped farms in the village. The children that referred to positive well-being benefits of work were in the female child labourers group from Bhuwad, from the wealthier Darbar caste, who enjoyed travelling to work as beauticians. Other children referred to benefits of cotton picking work in particular because of the soft feel of cotton on their hands, but this reflects a preference for a particular type of work rather than for work itself.

Figure 5.3 Views on work, child non labourers (girl s), Chandai village

In

In general, therefore, it appears that children enjoy travelling for work (which they sometimes see as an exciting opportunity for independence and excitement) rather than working in their own villages (which is seen more as a chore and does not widen their social circle).

80 Child labourers (male), Kharbar, Rajasthan.

Many children spoke of the enjoyment they derive from work when they have travelled away from home (including the pleasure of meeting new friends) and this was probably the most significant reason why children themselves would decide to work rather than go to school.


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Table 5.11 Children’s views on why others work

Male Child Non-Labourers Female Child Non-Labourer s

Dharmapuri, Tamil Nadu

Work in cotton during their holidays. Wages and learning skills are the only things they like about work. But also: “We learn a skill which will be useful in future”, "“I am going to work only for earning wages; I don’t like to depend on my parents for my pocket money”

Some work in cotton during holidays. Girls said, in order of importance, that what they like most about work is wages, pocket money, making friends, and the food grains given by the employer at the end of the work.

Salem, Tamil Nadu

Some work in cotton in the holidays. four boys said they go for the wages they earn. For three boys supporting the family is the priority issue. one likes going with friends and making fun while on work. Two gave a second priority for work as time pass activity.

A minority work in cotton in holidays. When they were asked as to what are the things they like in the work they said earning wages ("it is better go for and earn something that helps the family, instead of sitting idle at home"), learning a skill (they "gain experience which would be useful for future") and working with peer groups are the four things they like most.

Kharbar, Rajasthan

None go for paid work, even in holidays. The single most benefit is bringing money. When they go to work in hotels, they get food anytime they want. When they get angry they leave. They go away with friends. When asked if they have been asked by their friends to go along, they said yes. When asked if they refused or their parents, they said it is their parents.

All the children work at home, on farms, livestock work. Perceived benefits of work, “You can earn money, buy stuff, go around and have fun with friends.”


The children said they get money, that is why they work. The children didn't mention poverty or the need to earn money for the children when asked about the reasons. When asked about children who go to work and their reasons, they said they like to earn money. When we asked if there were parents who needed money their children earned, they said “yes there are some”. But mostly children decide by themselves to go for work on cottonseed farms.

They work in holidays. They think benefits of labour are: Bring money and run home, Go with friends and have fun, Go around in the market.

Samatra, Gujarat

"When one fails then they leave school. They are sent to the work. For Exp. My friend Jadeja Chetansinh Gulabsinh failed in STD-8th, he is going to farm and some time he is going to do meson. According to Jadeja Jetubha’s words" "Due to poor economical situation, poor performance in study, child fails" "Parents sending their children for work instead of study because of weak economical situation and sickness of his/her father"

Only household and family farm work. "If the children who are not studying they are sent to work. If no one is there at home to take care of it as the parents might have gone to work then the child has to drop out" "Even if children don’t like and parents force the child to go for work then child has to obey them" "If the children’s work at home doing the entire households work and taking care of their younger siblings then the parents can go for labour work. To help parents. To earn income children go for work"

Bhuwad, Gujarat

Work in cotton during holidays. Do not proffer any reasons for going to work.

Work in household and some farm work. No reasons given for work.

Khadaki Maharashtra

Because they need to earn money. When there is lot of work at a time in the farm, the family members are not sufficient , that's when the children are taken for help. Some families are landless, the family situation is bad, single parenthood. If there is no one elder [an elder sibling] then one has to go for work

They lack interest and they get bored [to come to school] [jivavar yete tyanchya , katalatayti shalela yayala]; What is the use of getting educated , how does it helps one? [shala shikun kay karnar, kay shikun pudhe upyogi padate?]; It is said that one does not get job after educating also so they do not send their children to work[shala shikun


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naukari lagat nahi mahnatayati , mahnun jada mulana shalela pathvat nahi ]

Chandai Ekko, Maharashtra

Family needs money. You can also eat, learn new skills, and chat with friends on the farms.

Children work if their families are poor and they need to earn money. The workload is more for girls than boys. There is no education after 7th and lots of pollination work required.

5.2.2 Perceived negative consequences of child work

5.2.2.1 Harm caused to children Set against these positive returns to labour, some respondents also recognise negative consequences of working. Generally, however, respondents did not present evidence that they perceive child labour as very harmful. Parents and children usually felt that child labour was harmful because children missed school and because there are some specific problems attached to child labour, but these are largely from the type of work they are doing rather than the fact that they are working, or to being away. For instance, there are specific problems from pesticides (which no one attempts to address) and snake bite. There are also problems, according to parents, that children will learn bad habits when they are away, and that access to their own money will spoil children. Moreover, children, and particularly girls, are at risk when they are away from home and when their parents are not around to look after them. As a result, a majority of children have a negative view of child labour; four times more children didn’t like child labour than did. A group of female non-labourers in Dharmapuri exemplify this: “no child happy in work.”

The most commonly cited reason why work is harmful concerned missing school (for instance this unusually stark view that “there are no benefits from child labour; if they work they lose education”81). The perceived returns to school are addressed further in the next section. On the same lines, some parents of labourers and non-labourers felt that children working was not a good thing but was required and helpful: "I don’t like it but to meet both the ends meet if required he may have to go out to work."82 “At studying age the child should not work but he/she can help in doing some household work.”83 This suggests that while households do perceive positive returns to work (and so would seek some child work), they would generally prefer more school and less work. This underlines the importance of household subsistence needs and debt in compelling children to work more than households would like.

Some opinion leaders felt that work in itself is not wholly negative but that children should not work outside their village. In Kharbar, for example, they argued that “children should not go outside for work. They should only work at home. Some viewed that if there is nothing to eat then they will go for work. Meths should be punished. Meths should be put in jail for six months.” In Samatra, opinion leaders felt that "there are no defeats to girls working...if they work in village it is better than if they work outside"

In general, however, secondary audience respondents were far clearer that child labour had negative consequences for the child than primary audience respondents. Most secondary audience respondents in each state were clear that “child labour should be abolished,”84 or 81 Child non-labourers’ mothers, Dharmapuri, Tamil Nadu. 82 Child labourers’ fathers, Samatra, Gujarat. 83 Child non-labourers’ mothers, Samatra, Gujarat 84 Sarpanch, Bhuwad, Gujarat


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that child labour is harmful for parents, children and the government.85 This was often because they felt that child labour would perpetuate poverty by locking children into labour. In Khadakaya, opinion leaders felt that after working “life is ruined. He can't study. He'll have to do wage labour all his life”. An SDMC member in Kharbar presented very strong views: “Child labour is harmful for government, for parents and for the future of the children. It is suicidal for the future of the children. Hard work at tender age is also very harmful. Deaths of the children have been reported.” In Gujarat, education commit members agreed that “No child should go for work until the age of 18,”86 that "you have spoiled your life. Don’t spoil your children’s life,”87 and that “children should be educated. [We say ‘educate your children; they are not aged for working so educate them.”88

However, not all opinion leaders saw harm in work. For example, opinion leaders in Salem saw no dangers in the child’s work: “Whether they work at home or work away from home, whether they are girls or boys there are no dangers that can be foreseen (two said it was risky for girls only)”.

5.2.2.2 Penalties The legal status of different types of child labour is not always clear to respondents (and in some cases of agricultural labour the law is somewhat ambiguous). Interviews with the secondary audience made clear that efforts were being made in various ways to combat child labour through inspections and checks, both by the government, and in the case of cottonseed production, by seed companies responding to pressure from their buyers. Despite these efforts, primary respondents’ knowledge of laws on child labour varied substantially by state89, and the main findings are that penalties haven’t been very effective at stopping child labour. Evidence from the secondary audience confirms this:

"Government has tried to stop movement of children by putting up check-posts at borders. I was also posted on the border for few days this year. There was no

85 SDMC member, Kharbar, Rajasthan. 86 VEC member, Samatra, Gujarat. 87 VEC member, Bhuwad, Gujarat 88 SHG member, Samatra, Gujarat 89 These trends are investigated further in section 6

Study participants did not present evidence that they perceive child labour as very harmful. The principal negative consequence of work according to parents and children was that children missed school. This common preference for less work and more school underlines the importance of subsistence needs and debt in compelling child labour. Some specific problems attached to child labour were identified, but these are largely from the type of work they are doing rather than the fact that they are working, or to being away.

Some parents of labourers and non-labourers felt that children working was not a good thing but was required and helpful. Some opinion leaders felt that work in itself is not wholly negative but that children should not work outside their village. Secondary audience respondents were far clearer that child labour was a problem than primary audience respondents.


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movement of children. They find-out other ways. It was a waste of money."90; “We [the government department] run checkposts to stop children from migrating in the cottonseed season. We have arrested a few people who take children. When you went to the villages, they must have told you that they did not send the children because of the checks. But that is not the reality. When we catch a vehicle with children, we are in a fix too. We need to distinguish between voluntary and forced migration. Sometimes, the children say they are going to meet their relatives in Gujarat.”91

Moreover, as the opinion leaders in Khadakaya put it, “the Dakshin Rajasthan Mazdoor union, in the last two years, have been stopping vehicles and stopping younger children from going to Gujarat. So, the number of children going has reduced, but this has not caused more children to go to school.”

90 Patwari, Khadakaya, Rajasthan 91 Government Official Udaipur, Rajasthan District Level

While secondary audiences claimed that many measures and penalties had been set up against child labour, almost no respondents from the primary audience spoke of the fear of penalties as a deterrent to child labour.


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Box 5.6 Summary in terms of Knowledge, Attitudes an d Practices: Decisions over child work

Most households contain some children who are in school and some that are not, proving that households are not monolithic entities that are either in favour or against schooling or prefer work to school. Rather, families normally allocate a mix of school and work based on their current constraints and opportunities. Only in some cases, socially and economically excluded groups such as migrant labourers don’t send any of their children to school. Having said this, a set of positive and negative consequences of child labour can be identified: Positive returns

- The most commonly cited reason for child labour was the need for children’s earnings to pay for food and asset needs in the context of poverty and low adult incomes (and possibly some employer preference for children in some jobs). At times, child labour was considered necessary to cover costs related to education and marriage. Child work was also necessary to meet domestic work and own farm and livestock needs in context of scarce adult labour and insufficient incomes to hire in labour.

- Debt is an extremely important driving factor for child labour, as generalised debt, advances

specific to child work, or bound up in sharecropping. Households have a feeling that they ‘have no choice’ as they are stuck in a vicious cycle.

- Households had a common perception that child labour teaches children skills that enhances

their future productivity and employability in the markets in which they are likely to work. This was directly related to strong pessimism about their abilities to find skilled employment, and therefore a perception that education would have scant influence on productivity.

- Some primary audience members – particularly parents of labourers – saw work as an important

part of the development of children as well as an opportunity to learn important skills for the future.

- Parents spoke of their preference for work over school in terms of increases in values around

marriage. Women who had experience working were perceived to be more attractive to their prospective in-laws.

- Many children spoke of the enjoyment they derive from work when they have travelled away from

home (including the pleasure of meeting new friends) and this was probably the most significant reason why children themselves would decide to travel for work.

Negative consequences

- Study participants did not appear to perceive child labour per se as very harmful. Some parents of labourers and non-labourers felt that children working was not a ‘good thing’ but was required and helpful. They recognise some specific problems deriving either from the type of work they are doing (such as working with pesticides) rather than the fact that they are working. However, child labour was considered harmful to the extent that it made children miss school, indicating a desire in households for more schooling and less work.

- Some parents and opinion leaders felt that work in itself is not wholly negative but that children

should not work outside their village.

- Secondary audience respondents were far clearer that child labour was a problem than primary audience respondents.


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- While secondary audiences assured that many measures and penalties had been set up against

child labour, almost no respondents from the primary audience spoke of the fear of penalties as a deterrent to child labour.

The table below presents a summary of the issues presented in the previous section, summarized according to the KAP framework.

Knowledge Attitude Practice

Sending children to work guarantees additional income to the household and can also serve as a debt management strategy.

There is no other viable choice

Parents choose to send their children to work if they are economically constrained. When they do so, they tend to keep some children in school and only send low-performing children to work.

Work can teach useful skills for the future. Women who work will be appreciated by future husbands

Parents would prefer to send their children to school if they could, but did not feel school always provides as useful a skill set for the future.

In areas with undeveloped labour markets where opportunities for skilled labourers are few parents prefer their children to learn manual labour skills at an early stage.

Parents and elders

When children work away from home they learn bad habits and (girls especially) can face dangerous situations

Work in general (and on family farms) was not considered particularly harmful, though most respondents were aware of its dangers. Work away from home was perceived negatively and a necessity.

When they can, parents avoid sending their children to work away from home.

Children Parents need additional support to help sustain the family

Work can be fun if it is done with friends, away from home. It can also be useful to learn skills. However, all in all children said they would prefer not to work if they had a choice and realized they had to work because of their parents’ economic situation.

Children work in different degrees, according to household needs. Some only work during holidays and in the evenings, others drop out of school in order to migrate for work (see previous section for details)

Secondary audiences

Work has a negative impact on child development and is banned by national laws.

Work is harmful to the child Attempts to enforce laws around child labour

Suggested implications in terms of communications strategy: • Given the important role of debt in affecting choices to send children to work, communication and

education on sound financial management of family resources would be useful in some cases.

• Communication to change social norms around the usage of dowries and high marriage costs could also affect change significantly

• Children perceive work as being fun. Communication strategies could emphasise instead the fun aspects of schooling (and further policy should be pushed so this is ensured).

• Communication strategies could work with children and parents to explore combining child work with school (during holidays, weekends, after school) rather than work patterns that force children to drop out of school altogether.


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5.3 Decisions over children’s education

Study participants identified several positive returns and consequences from sending children to school92. The following paragraphs start by presenting the main positive perceptions around education. Generally, what emerges from the data is that what groups most valued about education were the returns for future earnings, but that those benefits were not seen to be significant in every case because of segmented labour markets. Groups emphasised that education was becoming increasingly important for earning, given changes to society in general and heightened needs to be literate and numerate (even for agriculture). A second significant reason to send children to school, often mentioned by parents, concerned developmental benefits, often expressed as a desire that children should be more independent than their illiterate parents. This independence was manifested in an ability to read signs (for instance on buses) or not to have to rely on others to decipher newspapers or other texts, or to check full earnings had been paid.

The sections afterwards introduce some negative perceptions of schooling that limit positive returns from education. These include child failure, illness, low quality teaching, and a lack of interest from children and parents. In the last subsection, the analysis is complemented with the main categories of direct and indirect costs that are associated with education: financial cost and access.

It should be noted that, while these returns influence the outcome of the decision to attend school or not, in some cases determining whether children are admitted to school in the first place by their parents,93 there are also step changes to be considered because not attending school leads to more permanent exclusion from school. It appears that children who dropped out of school, for whatever reasons, rarely returned and went straight to work. Sometimes this was because school appears significantly less attractive after dropping out. Sometimes, however, schools rejected the re-admittance of students who had dropped out. In Dharmapuri, for instance, having dropped out, the headmaster did not allow children to re-enter school, making what might have been a temporary expediency a permanent exclusion.

5.3.1 Perceived benefits of education

5.3.1.1 Productivity benefits The most significant benefit of attending school was felt by most respondents to be higher earnings in future. Almost everywhere, the primary audience focused largely on the employment opportunities generated by schooling, especially true given changes to society that have made basic education much more important for many jobs, including agriculture. However, some groups in Rajasthan and Gujarat were more nuanced about this, noting that better employment opportunities only come with (expensive) higher education, and that

92 Often, research on this topic struggles as respondents feel they should respond in a particularly positive way about school, and facilitators worked to dispel this impression. 93 Male child labourers, Dharmapuri, Tamil Nadu.

Overall, education was most valued because of its returns for future earnings: the possibility of finding a higher-paying job in the future. However, respondents were aware this was not always possible because of segmented labour markets. A second significant reason to send children to school, often adduced by parents, concerned developmental benefits, often expressed as a desire that children should be more independent than their illiterate parents.


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segmented labour markets can mean that attending education has little actual effect on employment prospects anyway if you are from a marginalised social group.

Child non-labourers in Dharmapuri felt school was useful for “a better future…we as educated people can do things better, even if it is agriculture, than an illiterate…for government jobs there are reservations for us, we get better jobs.”94 Mothers and fathers of labourers agreed that school would give their children better employment opportunities in the future. Children in Salem also believed that getting a job is the most important benefit of schooling. Fathers in Salem argued that “if one is educated one can move from one state to another for better livelihood.”95 Mothers said “I am able to earn Rs2000 working as an ayah. They can earn better if they get educated.”96 In Kharbar, children also emphasised the relationship between education and employment. Child labourers believed that “if we study for long enough and enter higher studies everyone can get a job…we can also become meths if we do basic schooling.”97 Their mothers and fathers also referred to improved employment opportunities through education: “kismat ve to naukri mil sake” [if one is lucky, one can get a job].98 However, they (as did mothers and fathers in Gujarat) recognised that only the smart (hoshiyar) or lucky get jobs, even if they have been to school. Fathers of school-going children suggested that times have changed, and it is now a must to send children to school, although the best you can do is to hope (ummeed) that children come out bright. Some elders agreed with this hopeful outlook, arguing that “there is no benefit of going to school. What we are saying is that there can be.”99 In Samatra, scheduled caste girl child labourers who could not continue education after 7th class and are working in factories now as wage labour, “dream to become teachers in the future…the colleagues from Patel community have reached today far in advance”. In Khadaki, Maharashtra, male child labourers (who attended school some of the time) felt that school was useful to get a job.

Parents of non-labourers felt that educated children could become skilled workers, or “won’t have to do labour; if the child would study then he won’t have to do construction labour, would not go for CSP work; the well educated get service jobs.”100 Elders similarly thought that “if [you are] educated, you can open a shop, you can do some other work, you can work in some factory and earn more…”101

Some groups were more precise about this relationship, either in terms of how much education is required or what jobs education allows you to get. One the one hand, some in Khadakaya argued that

“if one is educated then one can get a job, [but] one gets jobs only after lots of study – what job would one get by studying up to 5-8-10? If one studies up to 12-14 then one may get a job.”102

94 Child non-labourers (male), Dharmapuri, Tamil Nadu. 95 Child non-labourers fathers, Salem, Tamil Nadu. 96 Child non-labourers’ mothers, Salem, Tamil Nadu. 97 Child labourers (male), Kharbar, Rajasthan. 98 Child labourers’ mothers, Kharbar, Rajasthan. 99 Child non-labourers’ elders, Kharbar, Rajasthan. 100 Child non-labourers’ mothers, Khadakaya, Rajasthan. 101 Child non-labourers’ elders, Khadakaya, Rajasthan. 102 Child labourers’ fathers, Khadakaya, Rajasthan.


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In Gujarat, elders noted a change in this respect:

“now the perspective of people regarding education has been changed because in the past the education level was quite low, and a 3 standard pass person can get the job of teacher and headmaster and a 7 standard pass person can become a police superintendent. But now people know that is not possible and they are trying to send their children for maximum education.”103

The calculation of the economic returns to education is made in a context of high economic uncertainty, particularly for marginalised groups. These calculations can therefore only be estimates, and households are likely to be risk averse, rarely willing to sacrifice short-term gain for uncertain long-term prospects. As one respondent put it, “the benefit (of schooling) is when one saves money - if one earns 25 and spent 50 then what is the benefit?”104 Parents in Dharmapuri, Tamil Nadu, worried that “anyway there is no guarantee that these children will get a job.”105

Some respondents, moreover, explicitly questioned the idea that more education leads to better jobs. Opinion leaders in Kharbar in Rajasthan questioned the value of school as currently arranged: “sending children to school is of no use…on reaching ninth all fail and then become labour…up to tenth only one or two are able to reach.”106 In Khadakaya, opinion leaders had an almost identical view: “the foundation is very weak. When they fail in the 5th itself how can they study higher? Even if they manage to go to town for higher studies, they look at percentages. And our children with poor foundation find it very hard to get admission.”107 In Gujarat, respondents were dissatisfied with the segmented nature of the job market that clearly limits the viability of these benefits for some groups. For example, elders of child labourers in Gujarat commented that at school “the child learns to read and write and what else? No one gives jobs to children of our community and caste.”108 On the other hand, the same group implied that education could provide employment to their community if they went further afield – to escape local prejudice: “if learned the opportunity to go out and work is possible. Earlier, three of our community people have gone abroad to work as they were educated.”109 In Gujarat, marginalised castes face particular exclusion from job markets, so the productivity return from education is necessarily low for them. Moreover, some parents did not think that the benefits of schooling would accrue to their households. In Rajasthan, for instance, parents argued that “there is no use in educating girls, as they go off to the in-laws place.”110

Despite these sceptical views, study participants noted that education is vital for modern agricultural practice. Parents of school-going children in Bhuwad spoke more generally about the wider benefits of education and about the specific benefits of education to modern agriculture, with fathers arguing that “people are called blind without education…at present

103 Child non-labourers’ elders, Samatra, Gujarat. 104 Child labourers’ fathers, Khadakaya, Rajasthan. 105 Child labourers’ mothers, Dharmapuri, Tamil Nadu. 106 Opinion leaders, Kharbar, Rajasthan. 107 Opinion leaders, Khadakaya, Rajasthan. 108 Child labourers’ elders, Samatra, Gujarat. 109 Child labourers’ elders, Samatra, Gujarat. 110 Child non-labourers’ mothers, Kharbar, Rajasthan.


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agriculture is also done scientifically so education is essential.”111 Elders of non-labourers also referred to the benefits of education for agriculture: “agriculture also needs the education…even spraying of drugs requires education,”112 as did opinion leaders: “education is necessary also to become a good farmer.”113 Other professions also require education now, as a committee member in Samatra pointed out, arguing that it is harmful not to go to school because you need English language to be able to use computers that you need today.114

Children in the study areas tended to aspire to jobs that required education. Male and female study participants in Tamil Nadu and Samatra gave uniform responses to what they wanted to become when they grew up: teachers (5 out of 5 groups; 18 out of 37 respondents), doctors (4 out of 5 groups; 10 out of 37 respondents), police officers (3 out of 5 groups; 3 out of 37 respondents; District Collectors (2 out of 5 groups; 3 out of 37 respondents), tailors (1 group, 2 respondents) or engineers (1 group, 1 respondent). These were split fairly evenly across male and female (although only one response group contained males) and child labourer and non-labourer. As an NGO worker in Salem noted, these professions require an education, and children are aware of this. However, participants felt that it is not always easy to complete the education required to be qualified for these professions, and even qualified, it is not easy to obtain jobs.

5.3.1.2 Developmental benefits School was also felt by parents in particular to confer developmental benefits on their children, and many children also acknowledged this. Respondents referred to a perceived greater independence conferred by schooling. Mothers in Salem say that “if we receive a document or a paper or a letter from the government or other person we are compelled to depend on someone else to read it out for us; they (the educated) don't need to depend on anyone for these trivialities.”115 In Salem, fathers argued that “children will become self-reliant when they are grown up…they will get respect from society if they are educated…society looks down at the illiterates, where as the treatment an educated receives in the society is qualitatively different.”116 Parents in Rajasthan also felt that “if one studies a little bit one can sign, no need for thumb impressions; one can read sign boards. Money can be taken by someone else, but if educated, one would sign and take the money.”117 In

111 Child non-labourers’ fathers, Bhuwad, Gujarat. 112 Child non-labourers’ elders, Bhuwad, Gujarat. 113 Opinion leaders, Bhuwad, Gujarat. 114 Social justice committee member, Bhuwad, Gujarat. 115 Child non-labourers’ mothers Dharmapuri, Tamil Nadu. 116 Child non-labourers fathers, Salem, Tamil Nadu. 117 Child non-labourers’ mothers, Khadakaya, Rajasthan.

The most significant return to attending school was felt by most respondents to be higher earnings in the future. Almost everywhere, the primary audience focused largely on the employment opportunities generated by schooling, which would guarantee what they perceived as a “better future”. However, sceptics pointed out that education does not always lead to finding a job and that often only higher levels of education lead to better jobs.


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Gujarat also, opinion leaders felt that educated children “could be independent.”118 In Maharashtra, children thought that education was good for their development [kalyan].119

In each state, respondents referred to the usefulness of being able to read sign boards. In Gujarat, in particular, the fathers and mothers of child labourers argued that “educated people can read the name board of the bus.”120 Other respondents in Bhuwad refer to the social stigma and dependence of illiteracy, even for those in authority.

“The most important privilege of the education is to get the culture; it gives intelligence; it develops the intellectuality. Fortune does not favour illiterate people, the illiterate person has to be dependent on others. For example, the president of Taluka Panchayat is illiterate, when somebody goes to him and gives a complaint in written he simply puts it in his pocket, he is unable to read it, he feels ashamed.”121

In a related way, parents believe that children will be better able to negotiate with more powerful people in society. Fathers in Salem also believed that children would be able to fare better than themselves in negotiating with officials: “They can deal with the Officers better than us. We are not able to question the officers. We just have to listen to them and follow. As we are not much educated we are always worried to question, though we know that the officers do not tell right some times (if not always). We are afraid of the consequences. If it is an educated person he will question on such occasions.”122 Parents in Dharmapuri felt that school will enable their children to negotiate better with officials, and potential cheaters. Children also believe this. Female child labourers in Maharashtra referred specifically to this, arguing that “education is needed one can be independent and no one can take your advantage.”123

Parents often speak of the hope that their educated children will fare better than they did. Fathers of non-labourers in Salem sum up this attitude:

“Education is like a lamp showing the way ahead. I never went to school. I know the hardships of an illiterate society. My children should not suffer like me. Therefore I am sending them to school.”124

Mothers of school-going children in Salem suggest that “we are sending them to school with the hope they will get some employment…we are not educated, it would be good if our children get educated.”125 Fathers of non-labourers argue that educated children will “learn to live better [than us].”126

118 Opinion leaders, Samatra, Gujarat. 119 Child labourers (male), Khadaki, Maharashtra 120 Child labourers’ fathers, Samatra, Gujarat. 121 Child non-labourers’ elders, Bhuwad, Gujarat. 122 Child non-labourers fathers, Salem, Tamil Nadu. 123 Child labourers (female), Khadaki, Maharashtra. 124 Child non-labourers fathers, Salem, Tamil Nadu. 125 Child non-labourers’ mothers Dharmapuri, Tamil Nadu. 126 Child non-labourers’ fathers Dharmapuri, Tamil Nadu.


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5.3.1.3 Social benefits School is also felt by respondents to confer social benefits. For example, parents in some villages hoped that their children will learn good habits, useful in general and in marriage for girls. As mothers in Dharmapuri say: children will learn the art of respecting others, if they remain at home they are prone to all kinds of bad habits.”127 Girls’ education is also explicitly mentioned in this regard: “children get good cultural habits from a literate mother, and literate girls make their in-laws happy.”128 Mothers in Bhuwad spoke more specifically about the benefits of education for widows, who can be self-reliant and can teach their children…”if you cannot get education one cannot speak properly and you have to hear from the in-laws.” Opinion leaders in Bhuwad also noted the good impact of school on girls and their ability to bring up families.

Some parents noted that education confers wider benefits, including in terms of being able to educate others. In Bhuwad, the fathers of child labourers highlighted the importance of education very clearly. Again, they noted that one can get a job with education, but also pointed out the wider benefits, arguing that “if one is educated in the house, others can be taught…if the mother is educated in the house, children can be taught.”129 More importantly, however, all participants agreed that “Dikri ne bhana vathi beghar tare,” [an educated girl lightens two houses].130 For these fathers, children should certainly be sent to school, so that they can be independent, “not have to be a slave [like us],” but they are required to work and earn. Mothers of child labourers again highlighted the importance of not having to do labour work.

5.3.1.4 Children’s positive view of schooling: imme diate well-being benefits Many children felt that going to school brought immediate well-being benefits to them. Table 5.12 presents children’s views and perceptions on good things about school (children were asked what they like about school and education). Several points are instructive from this table, and many of them are relevant to children’s immediate enjoyment of school.

1. Children were able to specify many things they liked about school, irrespective of whether they were currently attending it (see table below for details). Considered next to the decision of many children (especially in Rajasthan) not to attend school, this

127 Child non-labourers’ mothers Dharmapuri, Tamil Nadu. 128 Child non-labourers’ fathers, Bhuwad, Gujarat. 129 Child labourers’ fathers, Bhuwad, Gujarat. 130 Child labourers’ fathers, Bhuwad, Gujarat.

School was felt by parents in particular to confer developmental benefits on their children, and many children also acknowledged this. Respondents referred to a perceived greater independence conferred by schooling. Two important examples given by study participants were the ability to read sign boards and documents and the ability to negotiate with more powerful people in society.

School is also felt by respondents to confer social benefits. Parents hoped that their children will learn good habits, useful in general and in marriage for girls. Some noted that education confers wider benefits, including being able to educate others.


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underlines the strength of other compulsions to work, but also that most children pursue a mix of school and work.

2. Children liked things in school that were different from the things that their parents liked. Although a few spoke of being able to read and of getting better employment opportunities, the vast majority principally enjoyed school for much more current reasons that included both activities (sports, prayer, teaching, singing, stories, cultural activities, competitions, yoga, magic, computers) and school features (trees, gardens, benches, fans, lights) that could reasonably easily be introduced, as well as characteristics of school (being with friends, learning, studying, getting food, roaming, not having to work at home) that could be emphasised to those who are less aware of the benefits.

3. A surprising number of groups referred to activities that were not necessarily directly related to education in the most formal sense: prayer, games, singing, cultural activities. Clearly, these were the activities that tended to stick in children’s minds, and these are activities that could be emphasised further. Moreover, in emphasising these activities children were also emphasising components of broader child development.

4. Values play a role for some children, with one respondent noting a like for equality and another disliking discrimination.

There are also immediate well-being benefits from taking advantage of schemes on offer to school going children, such as the mid-day meal (MDM) scheme (that many children mention in the table above), and scholarship schemes (found largely in Gujarat in the research areas). Primary audiences rarely discussed these directly as reasons to attend school, but some secondary audience respondents also note that parents send their children to school to get the benefit of different government schemes, whether the mid-day meal scheme,131 or scholarship schemes.132 It seems unlikely that this usually played a very significant role for most decision-makers, except in the sense that scholarships reduced the costs of schooling, but was more likely to be a bonus of school attendance.

131 School teacher, Bhuwad, Gujarat. 132 Talati, Bhuwad, Gujarat.

Children described many things they liked about school. Unlike parents, their views regarded their current situation rather than long-term benefits. The vast majority liked school because of the activities they performed (sports, teaching, singing, prayer, etc) and because of other characteristics of being at school (being with friends, learning, getting food, etc)


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Figure 5.4 Views of schooling, child labourers (gir ls), Bhuwad village


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Table 5.12 Children’s views on schooling - positive s

Group Dharmapuri Salem Kharbar Khadakaya Khadaki Ch andai Samatra Bhuwad

Child labourers (male)

Education Games and sports Making fun with friends most Education fetched a job and had they been regular to school their prospects of future would be bright.

Education Friends as second priority (all). Like their teachers very much Sports, games and competitions

They said everything in school is good. Can get jobs. “Whoever has the luck gets a job (jinke kismet hai)” “if we study for long enough and enter higher studies everyone can get a job”. “We can also become meths if we do basic schooling.” “We can read boards and whatever is written”; “Exams are good when we know all the answers. When we don't know the answers exams are bad”

Like to study; Like to sing kavita; Liked to roam around during recess

Getting Job - 4 Information

from Books - 4 Mathematics -

2 Syllabus nicely

taught by teacher - 4

Teacher told songs and stories - 4

Playing cricket in school - 2 Learn new things - 4

Games taken by teacher - 3 Become clever [Hushar Hota] -

4

Can ride the bicycle Can chat with friends Can meet the friends As there is stitching machine in the school Can learn computer There are plants One can get the job As there is playground

Playing games Mid day Meal Cultural programme The school building Prayer and songs Garden with flowers The drinking water Watching the pictures and drawings

When teacher teaches Educational tours Playing like cricket, kabbaddi MDM Prayer Greenery Map, painting, photos; Benches Fans Art classes Scholarship; Computer

Child labourers (female)

Education, Songs sung by teachers Fun making with friends and storytelling Drawing.

Friends Education - If they are educated they will get good jobs and will have a better future. Food and the benevolence of the teachers Playing games

Teaching. Read and write in learn education - 5 Play cricket - 2 Earn money - 3 Get books and uniform - 1 Get midday meal - 2 Develop ability home mgt. - 2 One can get job

In school we enjoyed playing Kabadi, Kho Kho, football etc. Cultural events on 26th January and performing skits we enjoyed. Enjoyed playing Garba.(6 girls) We liked when teacher providing new knowledge

Activities like games and plays- khokho; kabbaddi; Participation in games and going out for the same Children’s singing Painting and mapping activities Learning Female teachers with whom can


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- 4 Gain new information and knowledge - 5 Play games - 2 Like the building - 3 Read and speak in English - 5

Liked all the sports instruments Prayer Drawing and painting Liked musical instruments. Facilities: Benching, lights and fan

share thoughts (man ke baat kah sakati hain) Competitions Learning through Stories, proverbs, jokes, sayings Cultural and other activities like celebration of 15th August Yoga teaching Exposure visits Library Playground

Child non-labourers (male)

Games Being together while in hostel and classes Food given in the hostel Making friends

Education Way lessons are taught, Friends in the school Sports & games “We have to get good jobs in future” said one boy. Teachers take special classes after school hours; they care a lot for us”.

Studying, Playing, Talking to friends, Writing, listening, stories, poems, Exams

Studying. When the teacher teaches well, Prayers, Good relationship with the teachers, Touching their feet, Playing, Food, Enjoying with friends. One boy said he "likes the equality (ekh samman rehna)"

Get MDM Playground in school Play games Teacher sings songs and tells stories Develop good habits Gain computer knowledge Get job Good drinking water Ability to read English newspapers

Teachers love students Taking good thoughts Getting meal Chatting friends New knowledge Festivals are celebrated

ALL LIKED: learn in the school, prayer, School programmes- Garba and 15 Aug, Dance, drama and cultural programmes etc, to sit on the benches, the trees of school, to do exercises and MPT, their teachers, picnic, the wall papers of school, to play cricket, volley ball and hockey, their class rooms. MAJORITY LIKED: computer class, to become a secretary and monitor, to

F in Mid-Day-Meals Benches Teachers Pray Computers Flowers Colour of the school Play Water tank (arrangements) Musical instruments (drums, harmonium, etc) Library Trees


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become a teacher on teacher’s day, library, Mathematics, English, science, Study with girls

Child non-labourers (female)

Lessons (learning), Games they can play Making friendship and the teaching of teachers (methodologies). Staying together away from home with friends.

In order of preference: Lessons, Friends, Teachers Sports & games. Teachers in the school take special care on each of them. Special classes are arranged on holidays and everyday on each subject study hours are organised.

Studying Playing with friends Parades during August 15th Being able to read what is written. This is the best thing. Singing poems, songs Stories Get off from work at home Reading books Becoming class monitor Wearing school dress Saying good morning to sir Bringing water for sir Saying prayers Dancing Studying at home Magic shows in school Cleaning the school

Study Homework, Ask questions to teachers, questions in maths, writing, Studying in the night, Sit silently and study, Learn our lessons, Food in school

Girls mostly talked in light of positive future attainments (getting job, developing skills, decision making etc)

To write on board decorate our classroom Cultural programme To sit on benches Computer classes To clean our class Prayer in our school To play during recess To sit on the swing To play different games take part in competitions To take part in science fair

Pray Celebrate programmes like republic day School garden Playground Games and Yoga Like school library Sing songs Study Teachers Draw pictures Science fair


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5.3.2 Perceived costs: reasons for not taking up ed ucation

Several features of education can reduce all of these benefits. These are grouped below into features pertaining to children, parents, and schools. Returns to education are found to be positively related to the abilities and enthusiasm of the students and their parents, and to the quality of school supply. In schools, moreover, the abilities and enthusiasm (or lack thereof) of each student has positive (or negative) externalities on returns for other students.

5.3.2.1 Failure The first major factor that reduces perceived returns to education for any child is a child’s perceived aptitude for school, typically measured in these schools as their ability to pass exams. Of course, there are many other factors that contribute to failure (illness, interest of children and parents, and school quality), and these are detailed below. Failure, however, gives parents and children a strong indication of the likely benefits from school, because they often read it as an indication that the child will not succeed in school and will therefore reap none of the productivity or developmental benefits, and children who fail tend to enjoy their school experience less. Failure therefore significantly lowers all types of return from education and will tend to increase quite dramatically the work element of the time use.

Drop out after failure was a very commonly mentioned reason by almost all respondents for non-attendance. Male child labourers in Dharmapuri mentioned that they failed and then stopped attending. Male child labourers in Kharbar in Rajasthan had the same experience. The PTA president in Salem also noted that children sometimes skip school for poor performance in tests. Female non-labourers in Rajasthan noted that their siblings left school when they had failed,133 and male non-labourers felt that “man nahi lagta [some children don’t like it]…when children fail in school they lose heart.”134 Child labourers’ mothers in Rajasthan also mentioned that “dimag kharab thai jaye” [their minds do not work].135 Parents also noted that poor aptitude for or lack of success in school lead to early drop outs: “we want to send our children to school. We try our best to send them to school. If they can’t study, things to not get into their head, then they will drop out.”136 An elder in Kharbar had a depressing story:

“I sent the child to school for 12 years. He passed 8th finally. What is the use of his studying? He failed 8th several times and then I asked him to stop. I sent him to a hostel also and paid all the expenses through mazdoori [labour]. What else can I do?” [The facilitator noted: ‘He kept repeating this phrase “barah saal” (12 years)]137

The same group had further examples of failure:

“Some children fail multiple times and then drop out. They say we are going to school and come back at roti time. What do we think? That they are at school and

133 Child non-labourers (female), Kharbar and Khadakaya, Rajasthan. 134 Child non-labourers (male), Khadakaya, Rajasthan. 135 Child labourers’ mothers, Kharbar, Rajasthan. 136 Child non-labourers’ mothers, Kharbar, Rajasthan. 137 Child labourers’ elders, Kharbar, Rajasthan.


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when they fail also we do not know why. For some, their minds do not work to study.”138

Failure is not seemingly dealt with well by teachers or children, as children choose to leave and “now the feeling is what is the benefit of education?”139 Opinion leaders felt that the messages children get when they fail can be important: sometimes they are told that it does not matter and they should try again, but sometimes they are told, “what will you do studying, chalo Gujarat [go to Gujarat].”140 In Gujarat, non-labourers reported that their friends failed and then started working.141 Failure was seen, however, as related to households’ poor economic condition (forcing irregular attendance), or because students would have to miss school for a variety of other reasons such as their own or their parents’ ill health, marriages, ceremonies in the village, or trips out of their village.

5.3.2.2 Illness A second less common reason that reduces returns to school was illness, which causes many children to drop out, and this temporary absence often became permanent (a transition that rarely occurs in casual labour). A male child labourer in Kharbar noted: “I used to get sick very often and so stopped schooling.”142 Non-labourers also noted that their peers would get sick and leave school. The response of teachers to this is critical: “Once [my daughter] was sick for a longer time – for 10 days or so. When she went to school thereafter, Mastersaab slapped her and that made her quit school forever.”143 Sickness was also referred to as a cause of absence in Gujarat.

5.3.2.3 Migrants – administrative issues for migran t children attending school Migrant groups face particular problems from their lifestyle, in which whole families migrate together, in terms of securing admission in schools and then actually attending schools. In Samatra, for example, opinion leaders argued that

“those who have come from outside [migrants meaning Bhagiya or other labour], their children do work…those who come from elsewhere, their children could not

138 Child labourers’ elders, Kharbar, Rajasthan. 139 Child non-labourers’ fathers, Khadakaya, Rajasthan. 140 Opinion leaders, Khadakaya, Rajasthan. 141 Child non-labourers (male), Samatra, Gujarat. 142 Child labourer (male), Kharbar, Rajasthan. 143 Child labourers’ fathers, Khadakaya, Rajasthan.

The first major factor that reduces perceived returns to education for any child is a child’s aptitude for school, typically measured in these school systems as their ability to pass exams. Failure gives parents and children a strong indication of the likely benefits from school.

A second less common reason for perceived returns to school to decline was through illness, that causes many children to drop out, and this temporary absence often became permanent. Illness also contributes to poor performance and often poor treatment by teachers.


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get education because they do not stay here permanently in one village…the backward class’s people can not provide proper education to their children because of financial difficulties; Patel communities’ children mostly study – nearly 70%.”144

Secondary audiences acknowledge an administrative problem affecting migrants who do not possess the correct certificate to get into school: “the Bhagiya’s children have no certificate so that they cannot get admission in school.”145 For the migrant communities, constrained economic circumstances seem to play an important role – they want to and feel they should be attending school, but they cannot because of labour constraints, poverty, or the inability to reach or enrol in facilities.

Box 5.7 Migrants’ exclusion from education: the Bha giyas in Samatra

5.3.2.4 Children’s negative view of schooling: low quality schooling leading to lack of interest

Perceived returns to school are also reduced when children have specific complaints about the school. These complaints are largely related to specific features about the school, such as harsh treatment or an unattractive environment, which could easily be remedied. Children certainly have many negative views on schooling, as set out in Table 5.13. Several points emerge from this table.

1. Children’s most significant complaint, particularly from those that are not in school, is that teachers beat them. This beating seems to be directed at those that are slowest at learning or who face other constraints to attending school, such as living far away, meaning that those least likely to be able to succeed in school (usually the most vulnerable to work) are further put off and alienated.

2. Many children were concerned about the lack of teachers in the school, and this was probably the second most significant complaint on average.

144 Opinion leaders, Samatra, Gujarat. 145 Sarpanch, Bhuwad, Gujarat.

When the family arrived here the children were quite young. The boy only grew up here. When asked why he did not send children to school, the father said that he was not sure how long he would be here. He said we are migrants and may have to leave any time. So he did not admit children in the school. The landlord never told them that he should get the children educated.

When asked he said that he never gave a serious thought to the question of education. Keeping in view his migration status (being in an alien place), with the fear of losing work any time and with the high workload, he never could give serious thought to the education of the children at a time when they were to be admitted in the school. Now he thinks the children are all too old for education.

For migrant communities, constrained economic circumstances seem to play an important role in preventing schooling – they want to and feel they should be attending school, but they cannot because of labour constraints, poverty, or the inability to reach or enrol in facilities.


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3. The third most significant complaint was around the lack of facilities, particularly toilets, a compound wall (in Salem), and the overall cleanliness and amount of rubbish in the school.

4. These results suggest that simple improvements to the school building and grounds, perhaps with community and child engagement, could contribute substantially to children’s enjoyment of school. These activities could include collective (including the teachers) planting trees, painting, creating maps and drawings with which to decorate the school.

5. Children in school tended to focus their complaints more on problems that disturb their learning, such as poor teaching or interruptions while child labourers emphasised far more problems with the school in general, such as beatings, poor facilities, and the lack of teachers.

6. In some cases in Gujarat, both boys and girls spoke of disliking co-education, especially in higher classes.

Children’s complaints about school are largely related to specific features about the school, such as harsh treatment or an unattractive environment, which could easily be remedied. The most significant complaint, particularly from those that are not in school, is that teachers beat them. Children also complain about the lack of teachers and lack of facilities (particularly toilets).


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Table 5.13 Children’s views on schooling – factors discouraging attendance



Lack of teachers, Lack of facilities to play games, Lack of toilets, Shortage of accommodation.

Most of all, some teachers abusing and beating sometimes. “If we do not go to school for three months one teacher beats us severely”. Insufficient teachers (two teachers for a school with 8 classes). Lack of a compound wall is a severe problem (2).

The worst thing is fights in the school and also when master saab hits. Teachers don't teach. Insufficient teachers”. “This year 95 % of the children failed in 8th. The teachers sit in the office”

Marsaab hit/beat No availability of drinking water Beaten by teacher School far away from home

The surrounding near the school is very dirty The teacher does not teach properly Teachers get angry , teachers beat There is leakage in the classroom [in rainy season] There is no drinking water facility There are no benches to sit The school is far off There is lot of mud on the road in rainy season

Being made to kneel down Teachers getting household work done like cleaning cereals , pulses etc Not teaching us properly and being beaten up by the teachers Cleaning the school and its compound Girls studying with us (coed) School without lights and fans Being beaten up in the school Doing home work Poor teaching

All said that they do not like when teacher hit/beat Three did not like English and one did not like maths Two did not like to study with girls; Dirty toilets-four;


Teachers’ harsh treatments, Insufficient diet, Lack of toilets, Lack of water facility, Discipline, Teacher not teaching, Teachers’ irregularities, Friends telling lies

Shortage of the teachers is the most hated thing for all of them. Only two regular teachers and two more guest teachers to teach 8 classes. Lack of compound wall All the non school going children (drop outs)

Beatings No view School leakage in rainy season No facility of drinking water Fear of teachers Teachers beat anger No available in sports material No desks for sitting No computer No toilet facility

Do not like when teachers beat us Do not like when there is rubbish in the school campus. Not interested in going to school. Teachers did not teach us properly. Discrimination in the school pulled us down.

Bad teachers who scold frequently, behaviour is not good Filth and dirt in school Lack of electricity and fans Lack of chairs and sitting on the floor Coeducation after fifth class MDM is not good


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complained that the teachers’ beating them is the one most hated.

Do not like midday meal, not cooked well. No proper sanitation facilities in the school. No drinking water facility in the school. Spreading rumour in the school in the name of ghost. School was far away from home and we got late several times. On late reaching teacher used to shout on us.

Children come without taking bath


Lack of water and lack of power are equally important

Teachers’ harsh treatment they hate most. Lack of toilets which their female counterparts have Lack of safe drinking water. One of the respondents comes from a neighbouring village and he is the only one complained about long distance between his habitation and the school.

Using abuses, Making mistakes, Children have too much fun, Not teaching properly, Children fight. Not teaching is what the children dislike most.

When someone disturbs in the school, When children abuse among themselves, When studies don't go too well, Teacher doesn't teach, When someone hits with a stick or stone, When children fight, When the teacher hits, when a child drinks and come to school.

Teachesr beat us Dislike of English subject Roads are not good Teacher gives home work No toilet School is far away

Computer is there but not taught No playground No plates provided to eat No availability of drinking water No toys/play material Water leakage in classroom English is hard No toilets Beaten by teachers Don’t like maths No desks No roads to go

ALL DISLIKED: cleaning the school, beaten up by teacher. MAJORITY DISLIKED: Dirty toilets, Garbage in the school. 50/50: Examinations, Uniform.

Sewerage of bathroom Less number of trees in the school Damaged window Two separate buildings for school Grass in the school


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to school There should be vocational classes but not done, Uncleanliness No garden


What they don't like is (in order) Teachers' harsh treatment, Examinations Boredom

Lack of compound wall – everyone is entering the school and creating nuisance for them. (most disliked) Teachers’ harsh treatment in respect of slow learners

Dirt in the school Teacher hits them Fights with other children Sir doesn't teach Boys hit with stones Disturbances When other girls scream at them Disturbances to studying is what they do not like the most.

Younger children use abusive language; Fights in school; When we don't get the answers; Work in the school – cleaning

Teachers beat Don’t like maths School is far No toilets Teachers abuse Teachers do not teach properly No school after 7th standard

Teachers not teaching us Fear of the teacher if we do not do our home work The school being shabby Dried flowers and plants Examination Scolding of teacher during indiscipline Mathematics Boys in our school studying with us (coed) Children’s showing discrimination during mid day meal

Noise of boys Coming to school without uniform Quarrels and fighting Damaged doors and windows Teachers if they coming late


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5.3.2.5 Parents’ lack of interest Parents’ management of their children can also reduce children’s desire to attend school, as this group of mothers of non-labourers illustrate: “[his] first son dropped out of 5th. He refused to go to school. His father beat him with a stick and that further increased his resolve to drop out. He never went back.”146 A local official in Bhuwad also noted that “Children are [de]motivated by their parent’s admonition and it leads to wandering. They do not like to study.”147 An Anganwadi worker in Rajasthan felt that parents don’t listen and don’t understand when “we tell them to send their children to school, that their future is being sacrificed.”148 Parents of school-going children also related the problem to “weakness on the part of the parents; those who are drunkards don’t send their children for education – how do they study? Drunkards don’t have money to buy slate.”149 Elders felt that poorer parents who survive on labour struggle to afford to send their children to school, but “this is due to weakness on the part of the parents. Parents do not show himmat [determination] to send children to school.”150 An Anganwadi worker in Gujarat reported that children do not attend the Anganwadi because they are afraid without their parents, and their attendance depends on the parents.151

Often, the parents’ enthusiasm for school correlated with parents’ levels of education. For example, child non-labourers’ fathers in Rajasthan report that some “parents do not understand what their children are studying. They can’t read what the children write. So, they are at the mercy of the teachers.”152 Also in Rajasthan, a teacher argued that “mostly parents of working children are uneducated. Some are poor and poverty-ridden. These parents are unable to provide proper environment to children; they don’t pay proper attention on the children. When parents go for work, the children have full freedom and their mind is involved in other things than education. There is no role model and motivation for parents and children.”153 Elders in Bhuwad in Gujarat also felt that some parents ask “we are illiterate so why should we make ‘literate’ our children?”154 Opinion leaders agreed that “parents do not send their children to school because of ignorance…if the parents are illiterate and do not understand the importance of education then they do not send their children to school.”155

146 Child non-labourers’ mothers, Kharbar, Rajasthan. 147 School teacher, Bhuwad, Gujarat. 148 Anwanwadi worker, Kharbar, Rajasthan. 149 Child non-labourers’ mothers, Khadakaya, Rajasthan. 150 Elders, Khadakaya, Rajasthan. 151 Anganwadi worker, Bhuwad, Gujarat. 152 Child non-labourers’ fathers, Kharbar, Rajasthan. 153 Teacher, Kharbar, Rajasthan. 154 Elders, Bhuwad, Gujarat. 155 Opinion leaders, Bhuwad, Gujarat. This was specifically in reference to the Dataniya community.

Parents’ management of their children can reduce children’s desire to attend school, if, for instance, parents beat children for non-attendance. Some parents were accused of not showing enough determination in sending their children to school, especially if they were poor, drunk or marginalised in any other way. Parents’ enthusiasm for school was directly related to their education.


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5.3.2.6 Low quality schools and teaching The quality of schools and teaching directly reduces the returns to education. Parents of child labourers questioned the quality of teaching in Dharmapuri: “even the teachers do not come regularly to the school, then what is the use of sending them [the children].”156 Mothers of school-going children raised the same concern: "teachers don’t pay any attention to children, if they teach children properly and regularly (they may also beat them to make them learn) why would children not go?”157 Second, in some cases teachers were reported as coming to school drunk.158 Finally, and most importantly “teachers’ harsh treatment is also a reason for some people not attending the school.”159 Male child labourers in Salem reported being beaten for “not attending school regularly,” especially during the cross-pollination season that lasts for 3 months.160 Even the PTA president in Salem acknowledged that sometimes children miss school for fear of teachers. Child non-labourers in Kharbar (Rajasthan) also mentioned that their peers left for Gujarat when teachers beat them. Mothers of labourers in Kharbar had a clear story about this:

“There was a child who was beaten up badly by a teacher. The child came home and told his mom “I can’t even hold my pencil in my hand because of the beating, banya bhi khaye, nahi banya bhi kkaye, I don’t want to go back to school”. The mother went to school and fought with the teacher. Why should we go and fight with the teacher. If the child doesn’t study the master will hit him. If we go and fight with the teacher will it change anything? That child left school and went off to work later.”

Children in Maharashtra also reported leaving school when their teachers beat them.161 In Gujarat, child labourers reported that teachers would make them do menial jobs at school, which encouraged them to drop out.162 Mothers of child labourers in Gujarat suggested that “the whole day teachers play games on the computer or sleeps…teachers do not teach.”163

Educational quality is a significant issue in many places studied, and a lengthy quote exemplifies this. Fathers of school-going children in Rajasthan felt that the

“foremost reason why children do not go to school is the poor quality of schools. Children can't write their own name even after 8th class. There are only 4 teachers in the school including the head master. The teachers always make excuses saying they have writing work or meetings and escape classes. Children go around without any work. Teachers do not fear anything. They just pass the children from class to class without ever making sure they learn anything. So, when the children go forward, they fail in class 9th and 10th. [The 3 fathers who went to school said that] during our time things were so different. Even when 1 teacher managed 100 students, there was ‘lagan’ in the teacher. The feeling was that the government is paying me and so I have to deliver my best. The students were also very committed to learning and respected their teachers. These days

156 Child labourers’ mothers, Dharmapuri, Tamil Nadu. 157 Child non-labourers’ mothers, Dharmapuri, Tamil Nadu. 158 Child non-labourers’ fathers, Khadakaya, Rajasthan. 159 Child non-labourers (male) Dharmapuri, Tamil Nadu. Also noted by child labourers (male), child labourers’ mothers, Dharmapuri, Tamil Nadu, and child labourers (female), child non-labourers (male) in Khadakaya, Rajasthan. 160 Child labourers (male), Salem, Tamil Nadu. 161 Child labourers (female), Khadaki, Maharashtra 162 Child labourers (male), Samatra, Gujarat. 163 Child labourers’ mothers, Samatra, Gujarat.


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the teachers don't care. There is no system of accountability. The children are also not as responsible.”164

Many members of the secondary audience also emphasised short-comings in school supply. An NGO worker and an Anganwadi worker in Dharmapuri emphasised the distance to schools and harsh treatment by teachers – “in such situations children will obviously stay out of the school”, as well as poverty, saying “it is not the fault of the parents.”165 Not surprisingly, however, the quality of school supply was not acknowledged by the teacher in Dharmapuri. A district official in Udaipur felt that teachers in the schooling system were not motivated, overburdened, and underpaid. This leaves the burden of education on parents who seldom see any added value through educating their children.

Complaints about the quality of education are manifold amongst the primary and secondary audiences in each state. Table 5.14 provides details of the primary audiences’ views on the quality of schooling in each village studied. Some interesting patterns emerge.

- Some respondents complained about specific infrastructural deficits in school such as the lack of a compound wall in Salem’s school (according to three groups), or benches in Bhuwad, or space in general (in many places).

- Many groups emphasised the shortage of teachers, either in general, or for specific subjects such as games or computers (in Bhuwad, where the school has computers but no one to teach them).

- Some groups, but particularly child labourers or their parents, emphasised the poor performance of the teachers, who would arrive late, drunk, or not at all.

- Groups in different locations complained about the poor functioning of the MDM scheme.

- There were some specific problems to different schools. In Kharbar, for instance, the school was criticised by different groups for not failing students, and in promoting them not providing enough training to manage higher levels. In Dharmapuri, groups emphasised the distance to schools and the lack of transport.

- Elders tended to perceive educational quality as deteriorating, with less motivated teachers and higher student/teacher ratios.

- Respondents tended to feel that having upper primary and secondary schools in villages would have helped student to stay in schools.

- Opinion leaders had much more positive perceptions of school quality than parents, elders or children.

164 Child non-labourers’ fathers, Kharbar, Rajasthan. 165 NGO worker, Dharmapuri, Tamil Nadu

One of the most significant causes of failure and of reductions in returns to education was low quality teaching and low quality education. This was raised in every state. In particular, teachers’ harsh treatment is an important reason for some people not attending school. Distance from schools and quality of infrastructure were also mentioned as determining factors.


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Table 5.14 Views on school quality, primary audienc e (adults)


Child labourers’ fathers

Distance to school Education is good More holidays than working days No teachers Teachers late

Teachers sufficient and good quality School building good

School teachers and buildings good. Equal treatment for children

Lack of teachers Teachers don’t teach well

Facilities available

Child labourers’ mothers

Don’t know Primary school teachers don’t attend, or stay for short periods UPS better

Teachers sufficient and good quality School building good No desks, drinking water or toilet

Need a school in village after 7th standard

MDM cleanliness poor

Children afraid of male teachers

Child non-labourers’ fathers

Too far away; no transport

Very good Children promoted to 8th irrespective of performance, and then can’t catch up Insufficient teachers Teachers don’t care MDM gives little food Children made to work in school

Insufficient teachers (4 for 8 classes) 2 rooms for 8 classes

Teachers sufficient and good quality School building good Sometimes teachers come late

Teachers sufficient and good quality School building good Need school in village after 7th

Good school Teachers don’t do duty; maintain attendance sheet only Enough quantity of teachers but zero quality No benches Computers but teachers don’t know how to use

Child non-labourers’ mothers

No harsh treatment but not much teaching

Nothing wrong with teaching

V little knowledge of school – teachers beat children

Terrible quality of primary – teacher drunk and teaches nothing No drinking water and MDM stolen by cook

Teachers sufficient and good quality School building good Some teachers threaten children

Teachers sufficient and good quality School building good Need school in village after 7th

Good school – nothing lacking

Good, but lack of space and terrible because on river front

Elders of non-labourers

Not enough teachers; do not teach

Deteriorating quality; numbers of teachers has reduced; teachers

Teachers, building and school fine Equal treatment

Teachers sufficient and good quality School building

Deteriorating quality of teaching but facilities better

Teachers not interested; “in ancient time education was


101 May 2010

come late and don’t teach properly

Some teachers lack interest

good Treatment is fine

good; nowadays teachers take little care.” Now there is less respect from both teachers to community and community to teachers

Elders of labourers

Quality not good; one teacher doesn’t come regularly

Village school good; teachers nice; all facilities

Compared with before, things are better; Dalits sit in school; teachers teach well; MDM works

Opinion leaders

Conditions are good; all children going to school regularly Free bus passes provided

Not failing students is “strangulating by giving sweet poison.” Teachers overloaded No school up to 10th means girls do not go

Teachers good but not enough of them Teachers sent on election duty and for other surveys Middle school has only 2 rooms

No discrimination Teachers good and punctual

Teachers sufficient and good quality School building good Lack of desks except in 7th standard

Village is relatively good because of trust

Teachers sufficient


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5.3.3 Penalties for non-attendance

As with penalties for child labour, sanctions from the state for not attending school almost never seemed to play a role in the decision to attend school. One group of parents reported that they send their children to school because “people tell us to send our children to school [school mokalo mokalo kahe],”166 while children in Tamil Nadu who attend school regularly reported doing so because they “have to.”167 The secondary audience reported engaging in campaigns to encourage school attendance, but this did not take place by imposing penalties on non-attendance, and almost no one was aware of the laws on education.

5.3.4 Costs of attending school

The returns to school were reduced by costs of school – in some cases these costs would be prohibitive. This was, however, rather rare in discussions of reasons not to attend school, with the emphasis being on low educational quality and other factors affecting tradeoffs between school and work. At the secondary level, however, educational costs increase significantly (both the direct costs and the costs imposed because of the additional distance children have to travel to school). However, many children have already dropped out by then, so the question does not always arise.

5.3.4.1 Direct costs Although no other groups in Tamil Nadu spoke of this, one group of elders in Dharmapuri mentioned the direct costs of attending schools, and this was also mentioned by the secondary audience, with a self-help group president noting that admission to high school costs nearly Rs1000. Child labourers’ mothers also noted the high direct costs of schooling, particularly for higher classes, saying that “until 8th, 9th, and 10th you need to spend a lot on clothes, copies and fees – up to Rs 3000-4000.”168 In Kharbar, mothers of non-labourers said that some people cannot afford school costs – of Rs1500-2000 each year – especially as the school costs increase as you progress.169 Child labourers’ fathers also referred to the expenses involved at a particular stage in their children’s lives – there is no use having the money available when they are older. Parents of child labourers and school-goers in Gujarat also described being unable to meet the costs of books, pens, dresses, etc. that come to Rs2000,170 or even, according to some, Rs 20,000.171 Parents of non-labourers in Bhuwad spoke about high direct costs of (secondary) school – up to Rs 12,000.172 Typically, books are paid for by schools but other expenses, such as fees, exam costs, stationery, boarding,

166 Child labourers’ mothers, Kharbar, Rajasthan 167 Child non-labourers (male), Salem, Tamil Nadu. 168 Child labourers’ mothers, Kharbar, Rajasthan. 169 As parents and elders pointed out in all locations. 170 Child labourers’ fathers and mothers (both migrants), child non-labourers’ fathers and mothers, elders, Samatra, Gujarat. 171 Child labourers’ mothers, Samatra, Gujarat. 172 Perhaps because they were more familiar with these costs, child non-labourers’ fathers in Bhuwad noted the direct and indirect (transport, books) costs of education, but child labourers’ parents did not. Elders also pointed out the additional costs of higher classes.

Penalties for non-attendance, including state sanctions, almost never seemed to play a role in the decision to attend school. Many respondents were not aware that school was obligatory.


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uniform, and shoes, are not. In Samatra, direct costs of school received particular attention from the respondents, perhaps because of scholarships available there. However, in many cases these scholarships stop when a child fails. Therefore after a failure the family cannot afford the new increased costs of schooling so the child drops out and works, where another child in a similar situation who does not fail can continue in school because of the scholarship.

Some respondents were particularly precise, with a farmer in Bhuwad reporting that “I will get my son educated if my monthly income is Rs 5000 to Rs 6000.”173 In Rajasthan, elders noted that “the biggest thing is poverty.”174 More specifically:

“in the town, when it is time for children to go to school, parents make food and pack their tiffin. By the time our children leave, our food is not ready. Parents wait for the bus and make sure the children get into it. We, for whatever reasons like our own weakness or work in the family, we cannot make sure that child has actually reached the school. We only know that the child took the bag and left. Parents in the town wait for the bus and take their child home. We can't do that. Our problem is we can't go behind the children to school and ensure they get all the things they need for school on time.”175

In other words, poverty is not only related to missing school through opportunity costs or labour constraints, but also because it prevents parents spending on indirect facilitators of school attendance, such as tiffin boxes or taking children to school. More broadly, the pressures on households may be increasing due to changes in the external environment as the prices of essential goods and services are perceived to be rising, and as employment opportunities are perceived to be decreasing.176

5.3.4.2 Indirect costs: access Costs to attending school were raised by long distances to school, which might be just expensive or entirely prohibitive in either financial, time or risk terms. These reflect the quantity of school supply. In Dharmapuri, male and female non-labourers emphasised the distance from home to the school (4-5km walk, without transport facilities, in some cases). Female child labourers felt this particularly pertinent. This was emphasised by the parents of labourers: “there are no schools, where can we send them? How can we send them in a forest?”177 “Some parents don’t want them to walk far.”178 In Salem, mothers of non-labourers also noted that children from the hilly area do not go to school because there are no schools there, and because their parents do not have jobs. This was confirmed by the secondary audience, including the Panchayat president who agreed that “the village [in Dharmapuri] is inaccessible. One has to travel a long distance by walking only. Teachers

173 Farmer, Bhuwad, Gujarat. 174 Child labourers’ elders, Kharbar, Rajasthan. 175 Child labourers’ elders, Kharbar, Rajasthan. 176 SDMC member, Kharbar, Rajasthan. 177 Child labourers’ mothers, Dharmapuri, Tamil Nadu. 178 Child non-labourers’ fathers, Dharmapuri, Tamil Nadu.

The cost of attending primary school is quite low so few households reported cost as a major factor in their decision not to send children to school. For secondary schooling, financial costs were commonly perceived as prohibitively high.


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don’t come regularly.”179 Distance to the school and the costs of transport were also mentioned by male child labourers in Rajasthan, and children in Gujarat felt that during heavy rain the school was sometimes inaccessible.

In some cases, primary education may be well supplied while secondary education is much less accessible, as a teacher in Rajasthan pointed out, arguing that “One de-motivating factor is lack of secondary education in the village. After 8th one has to go to a far off place for secondary school. Secondary school is far off and just for commuting one has to spend 15 rupees each day. A question of security is also there, especially for girls. Girls usually drop out after 8th. Attendance drops quite a bit after change of time from morning to day timing. School hours increase and also the day-long presence creates problem.”180

Similarly, in Bhuwad there is a school which goes to 7th standard but for higher standards the school is in Khedoi village 7km away. As a result, there are many children educated up to 7th standard but not many higher, and they tend to start work after they finish 7th standard. This may be particularly problematic for girls. For example, “a girl namely Pooja wanted to continue study and their parents were also willing, but she was alone so parent did not allow. All these girls believed that if the village has a school up to 10th standard then they could study.”181 As the Deputy Sarpanch in Bhuwad points out, “Some children are coming for study covering a distance of more than 22 kms. It is economically not affordable for many households.” This was a particular problem in Maharashtra, where the school up to 7th standard was felt to be well supplied, but access to the school after 7th standard was much more problematic.

Migration plays a particular role in raising costs to a prohibitive level. Migration causes children to miss school either because they are away from school for part of the year on their own, or because their households have moved and they do not have the certification to attend school in their new place of residence. Children are out of school (and in work more) when their households move, especially according to secondary audiences. For example, the teachers in Dharmapuri and in Samatra mentioned that children drop out when parents migrate.182 This was confirmed by the Panchayat president, who felt that “children who are going on migration are losing their education. Migration is the biggest hurdle in the way of schooling.”183 In Rajasthan, a school committee member felt that children are taken out of studies when “there is no one at home – father has migrated to do wage labour and some one has to take care of the goats for grazing.”184

The problem of entire families migrating and missing school is more acute in Gujarat, where migrant families often tend to send their children to school less, and opinion leaders in Samatra noted that “those who come from elsewhere could not education because they don’t stay here permanently in one village.”185 In Bhuwad, the Bhagiya parents themselves were clear that their children were not in school because they had migrated when the children

179 Panchayat president, Dharmapuri, Tamil Nadu. Also acknowledged by an education official in the local government. 180 Teacher, Kharbar, Rajasthan. 181 Child labourers (female), Bhuwad, Gujarat. 182 School teacher, Dharmapuri, Tamil Nadu. 183 Panchayat president, Dharmapuri, Tamil Nadu. 184 SMDC member, Kharbar, Rajasthan 185 Opinion leaders, Samatra, Gujarat.


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were young, and they can never return to school.186 Government officials note that children of migrants do not have the correct certification to attend school.

Box 5.8 Summary in terms of Knowledge, Attitudes an d Practices: Decisions over children’s education

186 Child labourers’ fathers, Bhuwad, Gujarat.

Costs to attending school were raised by long distances to school, which might be just expensive or entirely prohibitive in either financial, time or risk terms. These reflect the quantity of school supply, which are particularly low in the case of secondary schooling. When children migrate unaccompanied, they typically do not attend school because they are busy working. When entire families migrate, children are often unable to attend school at all because the school system does not accomodate them.

Overall, education was most valued because of its potential productivity payoffs: the possibility of finding a higher-paying job in the future. However, respondents were aware this was not always possible because of segmented labour markets. A second significant reason to send children to school, often adduced by parents, concerned developmental benefits, often expressed as a desire that children should be more independent than their illiterate parents. A brief overview of the main positive and negative payoffs to schooling, as explained by focus group respondents, is presented below. These payoffs will then be analysed through a KAP perspective in a summary table. Positive returns:

- Productivity benefits: The most significant payoff to attending school was felt by most respondents to be higher productivity in the future. Almost everywhere, the primary audience focused largely on the employment opportunities generated by schooling, which would guarantee what they perceived as a “better future”. However, sceptics pointed out that education does not always lead to finding a job and that often only higher levels of education lead to better jobs.

- Developmental benefits: School was felt by parents in particular to confer developmental benefits on their children, and many children also acknowledged this. Respondents referred to a perceived greater independence conferred by schooling. Two important examples that were made were the ability to read sign boards and documents and the ability to negotiate with more powerful people in society.

- Social benefits: School is also felt by respondents to confer social benefits. Parents hoped that their children will learn good habits, useful in general and in marriage for girls. Some noted that education confers wider benefits, including being able to educate others.

- Immediate wellbeing effects: Children described many things they liked about school. Unlike parents, their views regarded their current situation rather than long-term benefits. The vast majority liked school because of the activities they performed (sports, teaching, singing, prayer, etc) and because of other characteristics of being at school (being with friends, learning, getting food, etc)

Negative returns/costs:

- Failure: The first major factor that reduces perceived returns to education for any child is a child’s aptitude for school, typically measured in the school systems with which we are concerned as their ability to pass exams. Failure gives parents and children a strong indication of the likely benefits and payoffs from school.


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- Migration: For the migrant communities, constrained economic circumstances seem to play an important role in preventing schooling – they want to and feel they should be attending school, but they cannot because of labour constraints, poverty, or the inability to reach or enrol in facilities.

- Children’s dissatisfaction: Children’s complaints about school are largely related to specific features about the school, such as harsh treatment or an unattractive environment, which could easily be remedied. The most significant complaint, particularly from those that are not in school, is that teachers beat them. Children also complain about the lack of teachers and lack of facilities (particularly toilets).

- Parent’s lack of interest: Parents’ management of their children can also reduce children’s desire to attend school. Some parents were accused of not showing enough determination in sending their children to school, especially if they were poor, drunk or marginalised in any other way. Moreover, parents’ enthusiasm for school was directly related to their education.

- Low quality schools and teaching: One of the most significant causes of failure and of reductions in payoffs from education was low quality teaching and low quality education. This was raised in every state. In particular, teachers’ harsh treatment is an important reason for some people not attending school. Distance from schools and quality of infrastructure were also mentioned as determining factors.

- Penalties for non-attendance: state sanctions almost never seemed to play a role in the decision to attend school. Many respondents were not aware that school was obligatory.

- Financial cost: The cost of attending primary school is quite low so few households reported cost as a major factor in their decision not to send children to school. For secondary schooling, financial costs were commonly perceived as prohibitively high.

- Access: Costs to attending school were raised by long distances to school, which might be just expensive or entirely prohibitive in either financial, time or risk terms. These reflect the quantity of school supply, which are particularly low in the case of secondary schooling. Migration of child labourers also plays a particular role in raising costs to a prohibitive level.


Failing in school is an indicator of bad performance

Children who fail are never going to reap the future benefits of schooling

If a child fails in school he is taken out of school

Education can get children better jobs. However, this is true mostly for higher education which comes at a higher cost

Mistrust that this applies to all children, especially given labour constraints on local markets

Children are only kept in school if this is financially viable and if job opportunities are available locally

An educated child can read and write

This can help them to manage more powerful members of society and everyday situations (knowing rights, reading documents, billboards), gaining independence and learning good habits

Children kept in school if they have something to show for it (i.e. they are learning applicable skills)

Parents and elders

Schools are distant and/or badly equipped

It is not worthwhile sending children to school (it is too costly/it is useless)

Children are made to drop out of school, especially upon completion of the primary cycle (where schools are more widely available).


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Schools often lack basic services such as classrooms, teachers and toilets

Sub-standard schools are not worthwhile the effort


Quality of teaching can be extremely low. This includes bad/no teaching and beating on behalf of teachers

School is not instructive/fun. Teachers are scary and unreasonable.


Children

In school one can play games, sports, learn, sing songs, have friends

School can be fun Children want to stay in school

Secondary audiences

Schools are under-equipped, problems of access and teacher quality

Families make their decisions under practical constraints, not because they are not aware of the potential benefits of schooling

Practical constraints should be solved before forcing all children to go to school.

Suggested implications in terms of communications strategy: • It could be problematic to advocate the qualities and necessity of schooling if schooling quality and

accessibility is not guaranteed in practise. Pressure should be made on local authorities to tackle problems of a) schooling infrastructure, b) bad quality teachers (more on this can be found in section 7).

• One important focus of a communications strategy should be on the concept of ‘failure’ in schooling. Households should realize that not passing a test is not necessarily the symptom of inadequacy for schooling or ineptitude, but simply a stumbling block that allows teachers to better target pupils’ needs.

• Children respond very well to the ‘fun’ sides of schooling, including sports, games, singing etc. Teachers should be trained to turn learning into a pleasant activity that children enjoy. Communications should also focus on the positive aspects of schooling, including the possibility of spending long hours with friends and independence.

• Developmental benefits of schooling should be stressed, highlighting practical benefits such as being able to read contracts, perform basic financial planning, read signposts (including information on jobs and schemes available) etc.

• Local role models should be involved in any communications strategy. These could include people who studied and then obtained the jobs that children aspire to (nurse, teacher, beautician, policeman, driver, etc).


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5.4 The role of social norms

Social norms play a significant role in deciding whether to increase children’s school or work time, usually in favour of the latter. Here, three types of relevant norms are considered: historical norms, where members of a particular community are historically disinclined to send children to school because they never have and because they feel (probably correctly) that their communities are excluded from work opportunities; transient norms, where groups of children decide together to attend school, or more often, work; and rights, which seem to play a very peripheral role but might provide a reason for sending children to school.

5.4.1 Historical norms

The data presented in the previous sections indicate clearly that there are social groups who do not perceive accessing education as particularly relevant for them, and that the question of tradeoffs between school and work does not really apply. This seems particularly to be the case in Kachchh in Gujarat, where Bhagiyas, Rabaris and Ahirs in particular view their future firmly in agriculture and livestock rather than in education-related work. Dataniyas and Megany Muslim households have similar outlooks, but based more explicitly on the discrimination they may feel in the labour market and in schools. For all these communities, school is a less attractive prospect as teachers and classmates discriminate against them in school, reducing further whatever impulse they may have felt to attend school, and as the labour market has similar discriminatory effects. Their marginalisation is also such that these communities (particularly the Dataniya and Muslim communities) live on the periphery of the villages and lack physical access to some schools.

Not surprisingly then, respondents in Samatra and Bhuwad, Gujarat, felt that parents’ and children’s attitudes to education played a role in children’s non-attendance. Elders felt that parents are “lacking in education awareness” and send children to school just until they have basic reading and writing skills, and then they can go for agriculture or construction work. Opinion leaders noted that “some parents [of child labourers] are in a poor situation yet they make them educated…but if the children are not interested, what can their parents do?”187 Parents in the Devipujak community report that “we send our children to school but they do not go to school. Children go to the Anganwadi but not to the school. The Anganwadi has a lady teacher, so the children go there, but in school there are male teachers, so the children are afraid of them, so they do not go to school.”188

In the other states, a similar process seems to be at work, but less clearly expressed in terms of specific communities. Rather, many poorer (tribal in Rajasthan) households have experienced neglect and marginalisation from productive employment opportunities and this experience tends to incline them away from trying to gain benefits from the school system that they feel in any case does not function well. While some households have been better able to negotiate these problems, there appears to be a feeling that places at the higher end of the social scale are limited, and given the lack of social mobility, the value of schooling tends not to be strongly considered.

187 Opinion leaders, Samatra, Gujarat. 188 Child labourers’ mothers, Bhuwad, Gujarat.


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5.4.2 Transient norms

Transient norms refer to peer groups developing a consensus to attend school or work in a group, and membership of the group makes whatever choice they make attractive. These groups represent clear targets for a communications strategy. This was again felt particularly strongly in Rajasthan in Gujarat. Elders also felt that children in Rajasthan make their own decisions about schooling, and this influences their peers: “they tell us they are going to school. After that we have no way of knowing if they went to school or not…when one child does not go, other friends also stop going. When one child’s mind fails, he can influence other children of the same age.”189 Opinion leaders in Samatra also spoke clearly about the importance of children’s views on education on their attendance and that of their peers: “If children desire to study, then mostly parents make them study, but if the children themselves don’t have interest then parents won’t force to them to study; sometimes the wrong friend circles influence children to make the wrong choice to drop out.”190 School teachers also refer to the negative effects of ‘bad company.’191 Bullying can also play a part, as child labourers’ fathers report that one of their children dropped out when he was beaten by classmates.192 Some parents felt that children are influenced by the meths, as “first they are influenced by the meths and second they talk among themselves and decide to go together and prepare each other for work.”193“The meths talk to the children directly and convince them (gumrah karke) to go to Gujarat. The children then run away with the meths.”194

5.4.3 Rights

Decision-makers who consider education a right may in theory be more inclined to send children to school, influenced by the normative pressure that a constitutional or moral right implies. In other words, children might go to school because ‘this is what children ought to do, since it is their right.’ However, few respondents, particularly in the primary audience, were familiar with the concept of rights, and none reported that this played any role in a decision to send children to school or not.

189 Child labourers’ elders, Kharbar, Rajasthan. Elders in Khadakaya, Rajasthan, told an almost identical story. 190 Opinion leaders, Samatra, Gujarat. 191 Deputy Sarpanch, Bhuwad, Gujarat. 192 Child labourers’ fathers, Khadakaya, Rajasthan. 193 Child non-labourers’ fathers, Khadakaya, Rajasthan. 194 Child Non-Labourers’ Fathers, Kharbar, Rajasthan

Specific social groups, and particularly migrant groups such as the Bhagiyas, do not perceive accessing education as particularly relevant for them as they are discriminated against, both in school and in the labour market.

Peer groups play an important role in creating consensus over choices to attend school or work: group mentalities create transient norms that come to be accepted as ‘universal’ by those within the group. Such groups represent a clear target for communication strategies.


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In Tamil Nadu, most parents had not heard of rights (as noted above and as confirmed by an NGO worker), but those that had were rather blunt about their meaning. Fathers of non-labourers in Salem agreed that “children have right to education. We should educate them [but] they have right to education and we the parents have right to decide as to what they should do. In case we can’t afford their education, how can they demand it?" Parents in Gujarat were more aware that education was a right that children possess, as child labourers’ mothers in Samatra, for instance, pointed out: “all children have a right to go to school.” Parents in Rajasthan were not aware of rights to education. In Maharashtra, some parents thought of education as a right, but this did not seem to influence decisions on whether to send their children to school.

The secondary audience certainly sees the value of education and some are more aware of rights to education. A teacher in Bhuwad thought that education was a right, but that the Right to Education was not possible with the current level of support. In Salem, PTA members said “it is needed.”195 In Dharmapuri, teachers were aware of children’s rights to education, and an NGO worker was aware of child labour prohibition laws and the right to education act, but not laws prohibiting child labour in agriculture. However, a school teacher in Khadakaya had “never heard of right to education act.”

195 PTA President, Salem, Tamil Nadu.

Few study participants, particularly in the primary audience, were familiar with the concept of rights, and none reported that this played any role in a decision to send children to school or not. A communication strategy that stresses the idea of a ‘right to schooling’ could play an important role in triggering change in this direction.


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6 Schemes and policy

This section aims at giving an overview of schemes and policies that are currently operating in the research areas. These policies have sometimes succeeded in affecting the constraints faced by households in sending their children to school, while others were set up with good intentions, but have had limited resonance among target groups.

The following paragraphs set out to understand the key determinants of successful policies, as well as aspects that hinder their success. They start by setting out the main schemes, and then try to assess whether people are aware of these schemes and whether different social groups have different levels of awareness. Having presented the evidence, the section looks into the perceived reasons for success and failure of specific schemes and the factors that have encouraged or discouraged their take-up. This section then feeds straight into Section 7, which analyses possibilities for policy change.

6.1 What schemes are running?

The number and type of schemes available varied greatly across districts and villages. As a general trend, many more schemes were available in Tamil Nadu and Gujarat than in Rajasthan. The information below is aimed at giving an idea of inter-state and inter-district variations. It was collected during interviews with village Sarpanches mostly, as well as other key informant interviews.

In Tamil Nadu, Dharmapuri respondents listed a wealth of schemes that are available in the area. Available schemes include NREGS196, institutional delivery incentives, family planning, loans on livestock, girls incentive under the SSA, scholarships, the National Child Labour Project (NCLP), an Infrastructure Development Scheme, the reinforced concrete roof housing scheme, IAY, reservations for SC and ST in government jobs and a scheme for education of tribal children which provides books and cycles. In Salem, available schemes included the NREGS, 1/-kg rice scheme, cattle loans, old age pensions, education scheme (cycles for school going girls up to 10th standard), institutional delivery scheme, a disability scheme, IAY, MLA, LAD, ICDS (integrated child development services) as well as local self employments schemes and Anganwadis.

In Rajasthan, the village of Kharbar appeared to have more schemes available than Khadakaya. Schemes in Kharbar included the NREGS, the public distribution system, Anganwadis, a pension for widows, an old age pension and IAY. The village used to have an NCLP school, but it was closed two years ago for lack of funding. In Khadakaya, the only schemes available, according to the Sarpanch are the NREGS and Mid Day Meals, as well as a couple of scholarships and Anganwadis.

In Gujarat, the village of Samatra boasts a wealth of national as well as local schemes, financed by the rich Patel community in the area. National schemes include NREGS, Mid Day Meals, IAY197, SSA, Sishyavruti, and Nirmal Gam. The village also has its own education trust which distributes scholarships to children in need. In Bhuwad, other than the NREGS and the Public Distribution System, villagers also benefit from a sewerage scheme, Cheeranjivi Scheme, Baalika Smrudhhi Yojana, pensions for widows, Mid Day Meals, IAY, Anganwadis and scholarships.

196 Note that some respondents said the scheme was available, but currently not active in the area. 197 Note that some respondents said the scheme was available, but currently not active in the area.


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In Maharashtra, the village of Khadaki had the following schemes available: Indira Awas Yojana, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, Mid-Day Meal, Janani Suraksha Youjana under the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), Sanjay Gtandhi Niradhar Youjan, and Shrava Bal Yojana (for old people).

6.2 Knowledge and awareness of schemes

Despite differences in schemes available across villages, general patterns and trends that were consistent across the districts also emerged. The following paragraphs will start off by highlighting state differences in awareness. Common patterns, which are mostly related to social and economic characteristics of respondents, will then be analysed.

6.2.1 State differences

In Tamil Nadu, respondents from Dharmapuri district were hardly aware of any government scheme or subsidies at all, despite the relative wealth of schemes available, as described above. Almost all adult focus groups were unable to mention any public scheme, except for the focus group with family elders (who had heard of NREGA and reservation in government jobs for SCs but were entirely unaware of eligibility criteria) and the focus group with opinion leaders, who said they publicized schemes through posters, tam tam and sometimes public address. This indicates that availability of schemes is not sufficient if awareness of these schemes is not triggered. In Salem district, the situation was slightly more encouraging. Most focus group discussions with adults mentioned the availability of NREGA work and the public distribution system, while only the opinion leaders listed a wider range of schemes available in the area. Once again, a wider knowledge of schemes was only held by those in powerful positions within the community.

In Rajasthan, as in Tamil Nadu, awareness of government schemes varied across the two villages encompassed in the study. In Kharbar, local leadership was accused across the board of corruption and incompetency. “Whatever comes to the village never reaches us” exclaimed the mother of a child worker, “it is all ‘chor niti’ here”. An elder from a non child labouring family also stated that “the word (of new schemes) comes out with great difficulty. If a small group in the panchayat get to know about a new scheme, they use it to the fullest”. Respondents from other groups confirmed these opinions, explaining that the panchanyats meet twice a month, but “no one spreads the details of the meetings unless you ask for it”198. Though village meetings are formally open to all, in practice details are not publicised. This leads to widespread participation from a very small and socially homogenous group of people, while those who are not actively involved in village politics or who have other work to attend to are automatically excluded. Moreover, villagers feel there is no use of going to the meetings, as “all they want is our thumbprint, not for us to talk, so there is no use of us going”199. Despite the complaints, most respondents were aware of work under the NREGA and the Public Distribution System. These schemes had been publicised through word of mouth – “all the information we have we have from one another”200. In Khadakaya, village communications appear to be more straightforward, though the mothers of labouring children did complain that “only the big people (mota-mota) get all the information”. Many families in the village work under the NREGA, so information on the scheme is passed through word of mouth. Unlike in other villages, opinion leaders in Khadakaya also complained about their

198 Child non labourers’ fathers, Kharbar, Rajasthan 199 Child non labourers’ elders in their family, Kharbar, Rajasthan 200 Child non labourers’ fathers, Kharbar, Rajasthan


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lack of knowledge over certain government schemes. For example, they said they knew about the BPL concession for hospital treatment, “but we have no information to access the scheme”. It is important to note, however, that not many schemes were available in Khadakaya.

In Gujarat, the village of Samatra enjoys a particular status because of the high level of investments in social services by the rich Patel community and non resident Indians (NRIs). The ‘connectedness’ of this village is also marked by the presence of television, radio and newspapers, which are mentioned by a couple of focus groups201 as their primary source of information on government schemes. The focus group with the mothers of school going children was particularly interesting as it revealed the implications of Samatra’s ‘self-catering’ schooling system: “Patel children never access government schemes as we don’t need them, we have our own schemes within the village – if the financial situation is poor, the organization pays the fees”. The consequences of this attitude, however, are not all positive. Evidence from the fieldwork showed that Patels looked out for each other, excluding many other categories of village inhabitants – mainly the migrant Bhagiya communities and other lower caste landless workers who reported being completely left out from any schemes. Similarly, in Bhuwad poorer families complained that they have no access or knowledge about schemes. One woman complained that “only when we go to buy food in the village do we get to know about schemes”202, testifying the depth of her social exclusion. Respondents from other focus groups appeared to be more aware of government schemes, but frustrated because they are left out and “never know the details”203 – “those who have information get the benefits, eligible or needy can not get the benefits”204. An extreme case of social exclusion in Bhuwad is that of the representatives from the Muslim community: “we have knowledge of lots of schemes, but none of them apply to us (…), not a single person from the Muslim community is included in the BPL list (…) and none of us has got a subsidy of a single rupee”205. This experience testifies that sometimes knowledge of schemes is not enough, what counts is the complex system of power relations and historical subjugation that characterize local contexts.

In Maharashtra, knowledge and awareness was mixed. Child labourers’ mothers and fathers in Khadaki reported knowing nothing about government schemes other than the MDM. Child non-labourers’ parents were better informed, told by various representatives of the local government about the MDM, NREGS, Dattak Palak Yojana, Janani Suraksha Yojana, BPL, Rojgar Hami Yojna, Indira Awas Yojna, and the Annapurna Yojna. They also picked up information from word of mouth. However, neither primary nor most of the secondary audience in the village reported having any information about schemes relating directly to child labour or drop out. In Chandai Ekko also, child non-labourers’ parents were far better informed than child labourers’ parents, learning about schemes from members of the panchayat and teachers. However, no one in the primary or secondary audience was clear on how to access better information on many of the schemes.

201 Child labourers’ fathers & child non labourers’ fathers, Samatra, Gujarat 202 Child labourers’ mothers, Bhuwad, Gujarat 203 Child labourers’ elders in their family, Bhuwad, Gujarat 204 Child non labourers’ elders in their family, Bhuwad, Gujarat 205 Child non labourers’ fathers, Bhuwad, Gujarat


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Table 6.15 Knowledge and access to schemes

State Schemes available Awareness Access Barriers to access

Tamil Nadu Dharmapuri: NREGS, institutional delivery incentives, family planning, loans on livestock, SSC, scholarships, the NCLP, an Infrastructure Development Scheme, the RCC, IAY, reservations for SC and ST and a scheme for education of tribal children which provides books and cycles. Salem, NREGS, 1/-kg rice scheme, cattle loans, old age pensions, education scheme, institutional delivery scheme, a disability scheme, IAY, MLA, LAD, ICDS, local self employments schemes and Anganwadis.

Most adults hardly aware of any outside NREGA, PDS and SC reservation

Better information in Salem than Dharmapuri

Secondary stakeholders and opinion leaders know more

Poor Information

Rajasthan Kharbar: NREGS, the PDS, Anganwadis, a pension for widows, an old age pension and IAY. NCLP school closed two years ago for lack of funding. In Khadakaya: NREGS and Mid Day Meals, scholarships and Anganwadis.

Aware of PDS and NREGA

Primary audience complain that information does not spread beyond narrow spread of interests (Kharbar)

Khadakaya situation better, with information on BPL concession for hospital treatment, though some schemes not know

Poor

Information

Bias and control by powerful groups

Lack of funding (e.g. NCLP)

Gujarat Samatra: NREGS, Mid Day Meals, IAY, SSA, Sishyavruti, and Nirmal Gam. Scholarships from local education trust. Bhuwad: NREGS, PDS, sewerage scheme, Cheeranjivi Scheme, Baalika Smrudhhi Yojana, pensions for widows, Mid Day Meals, IAY, Anganwadis and scholarships.

Samatra is well connected and information flows reasonably well

Bhuwad slightly less knowledge, and some groups feel they lack knowledge

Mixed – Patel children do not use schemes but do not need them. Bhagiya, other migrant communities and Muslims excluded entirely

Ineligibility through migration

Bias in implementation of schemes controlled by powerful castes and sought by marginalised groups

Maharashtra Indira Awas Yojana, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, Mid-Day Meal, Janani Suraksha Youjana under the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), Sanjay Gandhi Niradhar Youjan, and Shrava Bal Yojana (for old people), NREGS, Dattak Palak Yojana, Janani Suraksha Yojana, BPL, Rojgar Hami Yojna, Mahatma Gandhi Tanta Mukti, and the Annapurna Yojna

Information mixed. Child labourers’ parents know much less than non-labourers’ parents.

Lack of knowledge on schemes directly related to child labour.

People receive information from local panchayat leaders and word of mouth

Good to some schemes, but constrained for many others.

Information does not flow well through the village


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6.2.2 Common trends: who knows what?

While the general trends across villages and districts varied somewhat substantially, specific patterns and common characteristics are also apparent, as some of the evidence above testifies. These patterns are mostly related to social and economic characteristics of different groups of respondents, as well as to their specific position in the community.

A first trend which is common to almost all the focus groups in the four states is the fact that parents and elders of child workers are less aware of government schemes and subsidies than parents of school-going children. This is directly related to other socio-economic characteristics, such as land ownership and literacy levels, therefore the result is not surprising. It is, however, important to keep in mind when considering communication strategies, as it proves the direct link between awareness and education levels. In Dharmapuri, one of the fathers of working children exclaimed “Naangu padichi irunda daney engluki theriyumu?” (How do we know about government schemes – we are illiterates you know!). Across all the focus groups, fathers of school going children mentioned two more schemes on average than fathers of child workers. Moreover, more mothers of school going children mentioned more than one scheme than mothers of child labourers. There appears to be a vicious circle whereby social exclusion in general drives exclusion from programmes – a trend which might only be stopped by tackling education on one hand and by creating community based projects aimed at increasing social cohesion/inclusion on the other.

A second trend is that in general female respondents are much less aware of schemes than male respondents. There are two exceptions to this. One is the NREGA where women have greater access and higher incentive to participate as they receive a salary which is competitive (unlike men, who can command higher salaries on the private market). The other is the Public Distribution System which women are aware of because they are responsible for collecting the ration.206 Out of 12 adult female groups conducted, 2 groups were unaware of any schemes, 4 groups only mentioned the NREGS, 3 mentioned NREGS and the PDS, while only 2 mentioned other schemes (pensions, institutional delivery, Mid Day Meal, etc). Moreover, when asked about how they knew about the schemes available in the village, only one female group mentioned receiving information from the Sarpanch or village leaders. Most groups mentioned informal communication with their husbands and friends. As a respondent in Bhuwad, Gujarat, mentioned, “when we go to buy food and other materials in the village, only then we come to know about schemes”. A woman in Khadakaya, Rajasthan, commented “no one gives us information, only the big people (mota-mota) get all the information”.

A third trend is that opinion leaders in the village are always the most informed about available schemes. However, even when they make an active effort to inform people through posters, tam tam, pamphlets and public address, the results are not always received by villagers and a sense of social exclusion remains. As a member from one FGD with opinion leaders pointed out in Bhuwad, “90% of farmers are unaware about how to get the benefit of the scheme. There are 50 schemes introduced each month, village people don’t even know the names of all those schemes”. Interestingly, the flow of information in the opposite direction (from villagers to opinion leaders) appears to be much stronger. In almost all the focus groups, opinion leaders were aware of the problems faced by villagers in accessing the schemes207. For example, leaders in Kharbar told the story of a young widow, Lali Sawalal,

206 Note that this is not the case in Rajasthan, where knowledge of schemes was equally low among male and female respondents. 207 See for example Opinion Leaders FGDs in Khadakaya and Kharbar, Rajasthan.


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who is very poor, lost a child and has two young children, who “never got her pension”. They explained that getting pensions is a “cumbersome process that ordinary people cannot cope with”.

A further trend across all the FGDs is that groups of people who are specifically targeted by schemes are better informed about them. The institutional delivery scheme, for example, is mostly mentioned by women, as is the Mid Day Meal scheme208. NCLP schooling and the SSA are only mentioned within Key Informant Interviews with teachers, PTA representatives and social workers (never by parents)209, while farmers and land owners are the only ones who mention loan schemes and cattle schemes. Interestingly, the NREGA is the only scheme that is mentioned by labouring and school going girls, as they often participate in the work when their mothers are not able to (“when inspectors come to check we just sit down” said a girl in Khadakaya). In general, the NREGA was by far the most widely mentioned government scheme, followed by the Public Distribution System.

208 The Mid Day Meal is not mentioned very often in the FGDs, despite its universal application. This is possibly because the scheme is almost given for granted and has come to be considered an ‘entitlement’ rather than a scheme. 209 Note that this might be because they are not known under this name, though no-one mentioned schools for child workers etc.


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Box 6.9 Summary in terms of Knowledge, Attitudes an d Practices: Awareness of schemes and policy

Across states, knowledge of schemes in and of themselves is not sufficient unless accompanied by strategies to raise awareness about who they are for, and how to access them. It could be argued that if people have the knowledge and a keen sense of awareness of the schemes they are entitled to, even if these schemes are not available or operational, the community can start making demands (attitudinal change) for what they are entitled to, holding the local leadership more accountable.

The situation gets even more complicated given that knowledge and awareness of schemes varies depending on respondents’ social and economic background. That is, poorer, low caste, marginalised farmers and their families, and minority communities (Muslims) have limited or no knowledge of schemes or are systematically excluded from benefitting from available schemes. Not too surprisingly, village leaders, rich farmers and high-caste groups indicated much more knowledge and awareness of schemes. To some extent, the findings also reflect an attitude of historical subjugation on the part of the economically and socially powerful landed/high-caste families towards the poorer/low caste families and frustration on the part of poorer/low-caste families given that they understand they are being excluded from schemes and feel the need for more knowledge and information around available schemes in order to demand change.

Parents and elders of child workers have less knowledge of government schemes/subsidies than parents and elders of school-going children; male respondents have more knowledge of schemes than female respondents and opinion leaders have the most knowledge and access to information about schemes. This indicates a close connection between education, gender, social/economic hierarchy and corresponding knowledge and awareness around schemes and is an important point to keep in mind when formulating communication strategies.


Primary audiences

Knowledge and awareness of schemes varied across respondents from different social and economic backgrounds, with higher status households being more informed. Women are also less informed than men (except for NREGA and MDM)

Feeling of exclusion on behalf or poorest/most vulnerable/illiterate households

Poorest/most vulnerable households have less access to schemes


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6.2.3 Awareness of laws and rights on child labour

Awareness of policies and laws on child labour varied greatly across villages. In Dharmapuri, Tamil Nadu, male focus groups were mostly aware of laws and policies, while female focus groups were not. A group of fathers said that they are aware of the laws banning child labour and that is why they stopped sending their children to work. However, the focus group later revealed that the reason their children were put back in school was because they had been caught in a raid and sent to a NCLP school (implying a scope for adequate punitive actions to limit child labour in some cases)210. A group of elders from the village said that “in the last 40 years parents have become more and more aware of this and they all try to send their children to school”. The Sarpanch from the village said “yes, child labour is illegal”, but he didn’t have any idea about it in detail211.

In Salem, Tamil Nadu, almost all respondents were aware of the laws on child labour. As the fathers of child labouring children explained “PTA President, Head Master and Village President have campaigned about it”. Mothers of labouring children added “seed companies and the government have been campaigning against child labour. There are many posters and wall writings in our village”. When opinion leaders from the village were asked whether it is necessary to ban child labour, most of them said “yes, If young people don’t go to school now, literacy programmes will have to be continued forever, therefore there must be a ban on child labour”. They added that “after banning child labour and due to scanty rains acreage under cottonseed has drastically come down”. “Last year there were raids on the seed farmers. Since them children are not used on seed farms”, the Anganwadi worker said. An interesting perspective was that of a local employer.

“[for the] last two years government is asking not to employ children in cottonseed farms. Labour officers are visiting the farms and asking farmers not to employ children. I don’t know whether there is a law against child labour. Seed companies (Salvam, a local company working as an organiser for Monsanto) are also asking us not to employ children. They said we should not employ children. They also gave bonus for farmers for not employing children.

In Kharbar and Khadakaya, Rajasthan, there was hardly any awareness around laws and policy on child labour. The only focus group that acknowledged any knowledge on this matter were the fathers of school going children in Khadakaya, who explained “government has put a ban on cotton work. Children go stealthily for this work. Once in a while they go walking. Younger than 15 years are taken by Meths only and if there is checking at the border then they take on foot stealthily”. “I do not know about the new law on education and I have no idea about interventions on child labour – the government asks children not to go”, said the Anganwadi worker in Kharbar.

In Samatra, Gujarat, as in Dharmapuri, male focus groups were mostly aware of the ban on child labour while female groups weren’t. “Children working below the age of 15 are restricted and according to collector it should be 18” said the father of a school going child. Opinion leaders confirmed that "if below 18 years children going for working that’s call child labour. But farming work in not considering in the law of child labour". They added that "the law of child labour is not implementing properly so because of it we can see the children those are working on tea stalls, vegetable stalls etc. in urban areas". A local social worker 210 See Child labourers’ fathers, Dharmapuri, Tamil Nadu. 211 KII Sarpanch, Dharmapuri, Tamil Nadu


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said "80% [of people from the village] believe that child labour should not be there." The local teacher brought an interesting perspective to the discussion: “the Right to Education is not possible” he said, there are more responsibilities - changes have to be brought in the law and the support from the village is necessary. In Kachchh out of 100, 60 children are drop outs”, he concluded.

In Bhuwad, Gujarat, most respondents were not aware of the laws banning child labour. “Koi ava kayada vishay sambhaliyu na thi” [Have not heard any thing about this issue] said the fathers of child labourers. “We have no knowledge-understanding of child labour act, but we feel that child labour should not be done” confirmed fathers of school going children. The mothers of school going children, however, were aware of such laws: “to do the work at the age of 14 is a crime. We can get this knowledge by watching the TV, and by listening the news” they said. Opinion leaders also had knowledge about the child labour act, while the Anganwadi worker had “no idea of law against child labour (…) the efforts would have been done by NGOs, Govt, etc”, though she added that she had “seen the advertisement on TV to stop child labour”.

In Maharashtra, any knowledge on laws and rights on child labour was very rare, amongst both primary and secondary audiences. In Khadaki, only opinion leaders had heard of a child labour law, but reported that it was not implemented (but would be a good idea). The secondary audience had also largely not heard of laws on child labour. In Chandai Ekko, elders had heard that employing children was a crime, but knew nothing specific about the laws. Opinion leaders knew that children should not work below 14, and although they felt this was good, it was not always helpful because children need to work on their own family farms. Again, the secondary audience knew little on specifics on banning child labour, although some had heard it was a crime.

It is interesting to note that study participants were not aware of the newly passed Right to Education (RTE) Act, probably because the act is still in the process of implementation. However, this provides a useful framework for government action on child labour in future.

Table 6.1 sets out the awareness of different groups of child labour laws and rights.

Table 6.1 Awareness of laws and rights on child lab our

CL Fathers CL Mothers NCW Fathers NCW Mothers Dharmapuri, Tamil Nadu

“They are aware of the laws on child labour and that is why they stopped sending them to work and sending them to school (actually they were reported to police)” They also said “Had they not been caught, I would have continued them in work” No mention of rights

Not aware of the child labour prohibition law. When we asked them whether children have a right to education all the respondents said they “don’t know anything about that.” They said “it is good if children are in school.”

No mention of laws. No mention of rights.

One respondent says she knows of a scheme that if children don't go to school parents will put them behind bars. When asked how she knew, she said a teacher told her. Women in FGD did not even know what a 'right' was.

Salem, Tamil Nadu

“They said they are aware of ban on child labour. PTA President, Head Master and Village President have campaigned about it.”


Aware of any law that prohibits use of child labour; all participants said they know about it. All agreed: “Yes, children have right to

Aware of Child Labour act? Yes, we know about the act. They didn’t understand the term rights. We then explained “children


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Although they make no mention of rights, and still send their children to work. When we asked them whether children have any right to education, they said they are sending them to school as others are also going.

education. We should educate them.” “They have right to education and we the parents have right to decide as to what they should do. In case we can’t afford their education, how can they demand?"

also have certain rights, do you have any idea?” we asked the group. Two said “yes”. Others said they do not have any idea. When prompted: “Generally we will not stop them (going to school), but we still retain the right to decide whether they have to go to school or not.

Kharbar, Rajasthan

N/A Why do you send your children to school? People tell us to send our children to school. (school mokalo mokalo kahe). No mention of laws. No mention of rights.


There is an age limit for NREGA work. All other works there is no limit. No mention of rights.



No mention of laws. Education is highly valued, just not afforded (henve family sacrifice). No mention of rights.

Government has put ban on cotton work. Children go stealthily for this work. Once in a while they go walking. Younger than 15 years are taken by Meths only and if there is checking at the border then they take on foot stealthily. No mention of rights.

No mention of laws. “We want them to study. Let us see what happens”. -- Some parents think that ‘those who go to school they eat and those who do not go they also eat’ so why then send them to school? No mention of rights.

Samatra, Gujarat

No mention of laws. Yes, we would send them to school, if the child is willing. Ours as well as others child has to be educated. No mention of rights

No mention of laws. All the mothers said all children have right to go to school.

Yes. Children working below the age of 15 is restricted and according to collector it should be 18. Each child has the right to education and at the that age each child should go for education.

"No. Don’t have any idea [about CL laws]” Yes considered a right. In this era education is very necessary. It improves financial situation.

Bhuwad, Gujarat

CL Laws? “Koi ava kayada vishay sambhaliyu na thi (Have not heard anything about this issue)” Do not know anything about right to education

We have no knowledge of about such laws. No mention of rights.

We have no knowledge-understanding of child labour act, but we feel that child labour should not be done. No mention of rights

To do the work at the age of 14 is a crime. No mention of rights.

Khadaki, Maharashtra

No knowledge on laws on child labour or rights




Chandai Ekko,

Maharashtra






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6.3 Access to schemes

Issues related to access to schemes can be analyzed in many ways. One perspective, which was explored in the sections above, relates to knowledge of those schemes and its relations to social exclusion. Access is also determined by the specific targeting mechanism adopted by a scheme. Another useful perspective is to understand why schemes are deemed to be successful or unsuccessful, as these considerations have an important impact on uptake. This section will give a brief overview of these reasons. It will then summarise the factors that encourage and discourage uptake.

6.3.1 Who benefits from schemes?

A quick answer to this question is that people who benefit from schemes are those who are aware and have the capability to apply for them. As evidence from the previous sections has shown, access to knowledge regarding public schemes and subsidies is determined by local context and political leadership on one side and by socio-economic characteristics on the other. From a geographical and political point of view, for example, while in Kharbar, Rajasthan, a local leadership which was accused of ‘corruption’ was associated with very low levels of awareness and access to schemes, in Samatra, Gujarat, a very tight-knit community meant that most respondents from upper layers of society were aware of schemes and felt as though they were benefitting from them, while migrant Bhagiya families and lower caste households were completely excluded from the system. From a socio-economic point of view, people who knew more about schemes and subsidies and who therefore benefitted from them the most were mostly males, characterized by higher levels of education, higher involvement in community politics, larger land ownership and more diversified livelihood activities.

Beyond the aspect of knowledge and awareness of schemes, however, another important characteristic to take into account is that of targeting. Most schemes are, of course, targeted at poorer households, generally through the use of a national poverty line that determines who lies below – who is BPL. This system, which formally prevails in all the research areas, was sometimes contested by focus group discussants, who felt that BPL cards were given to ineligible people. Issues of this kind are analyzed in the next section, where some of the main factors that encourage and discourage uptake of schemes are examined, shedding more light on why expected beneficiaries of schemes (the poorest and most vulnerable) are not always recipients.

In the above context, a strategy to raise knowledge and awareness around benefits of the schemes would need to ensure that firstly, it targets and reaches the right groups of individuals (that is, the poorest families, particularly women in these families who are largely excluded and often the most in need of the benefits accruing from these schemes). Secondly, the strategy would need to gain the trust and ‘buy-in’ from the privileged/powerful groups and individuals to help ensure that knowledge and awareness about benefits of the schemes reaches the most vulnerable and socially excluded communities. It would not be

Awareness of laws and rights on child labour varied greatly across villages and states, proving the importance of local leadership, local action and local communication strategies. All in all, male focus groups were more aware than female groups and secondary audiences were much more aware than primary audiences.


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too farfetched to argue that critical to the success of such a strategy is the continuing support from local/influential leaders in implementing such a strategy.

6.3.2 Success and ‘failure’ of schemes

An analysis of the government schemes and subsidies that were perceived to be most successful by FGD respondents and the secondary audience reveals an interesting picture. The NREGS was considered by far the most useful program, with 15 out of 36 FGDs with adults expressing a strong preference. This extremely positive result, however, is highly concentrated in Salem district and in Samatra212. The reasons for the preference were varied. Some respondents explained that NREGS guarantees work when “there is no work available on the open market”213, others explained it helps them to “support their children’s education a little better”214 and helps them “feed the family”215. Other schemes that were favoured, with only 4 expressions of preference out of 36, were scholarships and Mid Day Meals, followed by IAY. These results were also geographically concentrated, mostly in Bhuwad in Gujarat.

Respondents rarely spoke positively about government schemes. The focus of the discussion was overall oriented towards what was going wrong with the schemes, rather than what they had done right. The largest number of complaints, once again, was directed towards the NREGS. Respondents protested that the number of days available is too low and so are the wages216 - “there are 10-15 people on one job card, 100 days is nothing for such a family”217. Many explained that this was because no-one is receiving the salary they are supposed to be receiving: “wages are 60-70 rupees, though the government says we get 100 Rs per day”218. Interestingly, some men protested that women were benefitting more from the NREGS than they were, precisely because of the low wages: “we (men) can get higher wages in the open market, so it is not worth it for us; women have lower wages so they benefit more”219. In the words of an NGO worker in Kharbar “the NREGS is mired in 212 Note that NREGS was not running in Dharmapuri this year, but a few respondents commented on the programme explaining how they thought it would be very useful. 213 Child labourers’ fathers, Salem, Tamil Nadu; also confirmed by Child non labourers’ fathers, Salem, Tamil Nadu; Opinion leaders, Dharmapuri, Tamil Nadu; Child non labourers’ elders in family, Samatra, Gujarat; Child non labourers’ fathers, Samatra, Gujarat; Child non labourers’ fathers, Kharbar, Rajasthan 214 Child labourers’ mothers, Salem, Tamil Nadu 215 Opinion leaders, Salem, Tamil Nadu; Child non labourers’ fathers, Salem, Tamil Nadu 216 Child non labourers’ fathers, Kharbar, Rajasthan; 217 Opinion leaders, Khadakaya, Rajasthan. 218 Opinion leaders, Kharbar, Rajasthan; Opinion leaders Khadakaya, Rajasthan 219 Child labourers’ fathers, Salem, Tamil Nadu. See also Opinion leaders, Dharmapuri, Tamil Nadu.

Access to knowledge regarding public schemes and subsidies is determined by local context and political leadership on one side and by socio-economic characteristics on the other. A strategy to raise knowledge and awareness around benefits of the schemes would need to ensure that firstly, it targets and reaches the right groups of individuals. Secondly, the strategy would need to gain the trust and ‘buy-in’ from the privileged/powerful groups who would be critical to the success of any local communication strategy.


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corruption. The programs are suffering with various lacunas and weaknesses (…), those who are in need of work and are sincere workers are not getting proper wages”. Other complaints include late payments220 and lack of medical treatment for people with injuries. For example, opinion leaders in Khadakaya explained how a woman had been bitten by a snake while working on NREGS: “we spent Rs 800 on transportation and got her treated” they said, “but were never given any compensation”221. From an entirely different point of view, an interesting perspective shared by farmers and agro-business representatives was the fact because of the NREGS “labourers are becoming lazy”. “They are getting Rs 80 working only 2-3 hours a day, we are finding it very hard to get labour because of this scheme” a farmer in Tamil Nadu explained, pointing out how this pressure on higher wages was one of the reasons he had been compelled to employ children on his fields222.

The NREGS, however, was not the only government scheme to be widely criticized by respondents. The Public Distribution System, for example, was accused of lack of transparency and inadequate supply of resources. “In ration shops we never get the commodities claimed by the government, the dealer in our village always says there is no rice”223 protested a group of mothers in Salem. In Samatra, Kharbar and Khadakaya, respondents also protested that they were being given less grains than they were entitled to224. In Khadakaya specifically, numerous voices raised against ration shops that “only open once every 2 months”225. “By the time people get information and make provision for money, the shop closes”, the opinion leaders FGD explained.

The Mid Day Meal scheme also attracted some criticism because of the bad quality and lack of diversification of food served. “In school there are only two different types of food served”, a father complained in Khadakaya226.

From a more general perspective, the aspect of public schemes that most alienated people who tried to avail of their services was the complex bureaucracy required to apply. This criticism was mostly directed towards pensions, but was also mentioned in other contexts. To avail of these schemes “a lot of documents and a lot of signatures are needed” respondents said, “it is a cumbersome process, an ordinary person cannot cope with it”227. “Sometimes the benefit is approved, but a lot of running around has to be done”228 others confirmed. There were also various stories of frustration: “I spent 100 rupees to fill up the form, got

220 This was mostly in Bhuwad and Samatra. See Child labourers’ elders in family, Samatra; Child labourers’ mothers, Bhuwad; Child labourers’ elders in family, Bhuwad. 221 Note that, most often, people who complained about the NREGS also declared that it was the best scheme available. The complaints were often coupled with suggestions for improvement, showing an overall positive attitude towards the programme. 222 Key Informant Interview with employer, Salem, Tamil Nadu. See also Key Informant Interview with seed organizer, Dharmapuri, Tamil Nadu; Key Informant Interview with Deputy Sarpanch, Bhuwad, Gujarat. 223 Child non labourers’ mothers, Salem, Tamil Nadu 224 Child non labourers’ fathers, Kharbar, Rajasthan; Child labourers’ mothers, Samatra, Gujarat; Child labourers’ and child non labourers’ mothers, Khadakaya, Rajasthan. 225 Child labourers’ and child non labourers’ mothers, Khadakaya, Rajasthan 226 Child non labourers’ fathers, Khadakaya, Rajasthan 227 Opinion leaders, Kharbar, Rajasthan 228 Child labourers’ fathers, Bhuwad, Gujarat


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photographs made, but nothing happened”229, an old man explained in Khadakaya, echoed by others in other districts. As an elder from Bhuwad concisely put it, “schemes are made at a higher level and they cannot be implemented - government schemes are complicated”230. A focus group with leaders in Bhuwad, however, also suggested a useful arrangement to streamline information for the village: “information on schemes should be collected from Gram Sevak and supplied to the Gram Panchayat Secretary (Talati-cum-Mantri). The government should appoint such a person who helps by giving advices when there is a season of diseases in agriculture produce. Gram Sevak is in charge of so many villages that he can not handle each village separately”.

Faced with continuous failure in efficient delivery of schemes for various reasons, there is an understandable scepticism and criticism in the attitudes of community members regarding the utility and benefit of such government schemes. A strategy that could help to change people’s negative attitudes and perceptions about government schemes needs to have key messages and more importantly a ‘messenger’ who provides accurate and timely information about such schemes to the community. This could be done by identifying a key/focal point of intervention (such as a Gram Sevak) who is a recognised and trusted member of the community (across caste, class, and religious lines) and who can help identify the most excluded groups and then help shape the delivery of the information about schemes effectively, consistently, and continuously.

Box 6.10 What factors encourage and discourage upta ke of schemes?

229 Child non labourers’ elders in the family, Khadakaya, Rajasthan 230 Child non labourers’ elders in the family, Bhuwad, Gujarat

While the NREGS was commonly accepted as the most useful programme, respondents focused primarily on what was going wrong with government schemes. These negative attitudes and perceptions should be changed at a local level, by identifying a ‘messenger’ who is a trusted member of the community and who can help to identify excluded groups and help shape the delivery of the information about schemes effectively, consistently, and continuously

In summary, the factors that encourage/discourage people from taking advantage of government schemes and subsidies are the following:

On one hand, lack of access to public schemes is due to a lack of knowledge of those specific schemes. This trend was traced in the previous sections, showing how policy awareness was much lower in poor households characterized by illiteracy, marginal land ownership, undiversified livelihood activities and scarce participation in community politics.

On the other hand, people are discouraged from participating in schemes they are aware of for very practical reasons, many of them related to a loss of trust in public institutions. These reasons include:

• Long and untraceable/un-transparent application processes (mostly true for pensions and IAY house applications),

• Feeling of injustice/corruption (ex. NREGA paying less than declared and for less days),

• Mistrust of eligibility criteria (for example rich people having BPL cards1),

• Failed application attempts in the past,

• Scarce confidence in local/village authorities,

• Unpredictability of resources (common complaint for ration shops),

• Insensitive behaviour of government employees (this is a particularly important factor for marginalized members of the community)


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7 Changing policy: proposed improvements to work, schooling and schemes

7.1 Ideas by theme

This section builds upon suggestions for improvement of current schemes, views of how schooling should be changed to make it more attractive and approachable for poorer families and any other policy ‘advice’ that emerged during FGDs and KIIs in the four case-study states. Given the abundant material to be analysed, the suggestions are organized under common themes, which will be presented in detail in the paragraphs that follow. The selected themes are:

• Change in working conditions

• Access to schooling

• Quality of teaching and teachers

• Infrastructure/services

• Cost

• Organization and awareness

• Government complementary schemes These themes are presented in summary in the table below, distinguishing between suggestions for change related to work, education and broader strategies.

Change working

conditions

Access Quality of teaching/ teachers

Infrastructure/ services

Cost Organization Government complementary

schemes (improvements +

new)

Less working hours

Have a secondary school in the village

Higher quality teaching

Provide playground, games, sports equipment

Provide clothes/ uniforms

More active parent participation in organisations

Provide loans more liberally / financial assistance for business

Higher wages Provide transport to/from school

Need for more teachers (and especially some more female teachers)

Provide toilets; preferably separate for older boys and girls

Provide copybooks

Stronger role for VEC and PTA

Scholarships

No ‘bad’ work More schools Stop teachers from beating students

Provide more diversified and better quality food (MDM)

Reduce costs for secondary school

Teachers should make personal visits to families, particularly of school dropouts and of those who never attended school

Create new employment opportunities for parents

Learn other activities

Better roads Teachers not to miss school

Provide more rooms

Try to ensure zero-cost schooling

Schools made accountable for school children

Increase NREGS (days and salary)

Work Education Broader

Strategies


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attendance Not work away from home

Provide social welfare hostel/ accommodation

Teachers to be more punctual

Provide computers/ laboratory/ library

Scholarships, especially for poor/marginalised families in the community

Parents should be made more aware of (education schemes; etc)?

Need more Anganwadis/ supplementary feeding

Be paid at the end of each day

Provide a bicycle for school children, particularly underprivileged/marginalised children

Teachers should not discriminate by caste, class, or other status indicators

Provide benches/ desks

Children involved in organisations by forming children’s clubs

Provide electricity/water

More flexible working hours

Use qualified local youth as teachers in out of reach/hard to reach areas

Teachers to be fluent in local language

Paint walls to make school more attractive

More reservations for government jobs

No over time Increase competition among students

Provide clean drinking water

More poverty alleviation and welfare schemes

Have a better syllabus

Provide compound wall/ windows

Better BPL targeting

More cultural activities in school

Hang drawings/maps/ notice board

Ensure proper implementation of current schemes

More sports, playing

Have a garden/trees

Condition schemes on schooling

Training and hiring local teachers

Ensure cleanliness

Make provisions for migrant families

Refresher teacher training?

Provide vocational training/ evening school

7.1.1 Work

The first theme, a change in working conditions, lies within a ‘no-change’ scenario, whereby children continue working, but on their terms. A group of child labouring girls in Samatra, for example, explained that they “would like to do their own work before going to the factory for work. Factory times should be changed so that everybody has the same time. There should be no overtime”231. In Bhuwad, girls said they would have liked to diversify their activities by learning “sewing and beauty parlour work”. They added that “work should be easy”232. Children in Dharmapuri added that “things can be improved at the working place by reducing working hours and increasing wages and by giving some time for rest”233, specifying that they liked to work and liked their employer so saw no need of stopping work.

Where children continue working on their terms, helping to change/influence the attitude of employers towards child workers becomes critical. This could be done by suggesting proposed solutions to employers that could make the work more manageable without causing major disruption to children’s schooling such as: making the hours of work more flexible, giving them higher wages to limit the amount of time worked (and thus more time for school), encouraging employers to believe that a satisfied/educated worker is a good worker 231 Child labourers (females), Samatra, Gujarat 232 Child labourers (females), Bhuwad, Gujarat 233 Child labourers (male), Dharmapuri, Tamil Nadu


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so if working conditions are “suitable” with no overtime, with the opportunity to learn other activities, no beatings/scoldings, and regular payments, then everyone in the community benefits.

7.1.2 Education

The second theme, access to schooling, was one of the most relevant for many respondents. Families of labouring and non labouring children complained about the lack of schools, lack of adequate transport and roads and lack of accommodation for children from families who live far away. As a mother pointed out in Salem, Tamil Nadu, “In the hill areas how can you expect children to walk kilometres of distance to attend school? Government should start more schools”234. This opinion was mirrored across the four states, where many families of school-going children complained about the distance from secondary schools specifically. Suggestions for policy change, therefore, mostly pointed out the need for more schools, upgrading current schools to secondary level, free transport for school going children and social welfare hostels for families of children who live far away. This was also highlighted in Maharashtra.

Another factor which was considered extremely important to attract more children into school was the quality of schooling and of teachers. “The quality of education in government schools and aided schools should be on par with private schools, at collegiate level government institutions’ performance is far below – the government should take measures,”235 a Sarpanch stated in Salem. In Khadakaya, a group of boys commented: “if they are taught well more children will come”, this means that “all the children understand what is being said”. They also said that “if the teachers beat less, younger children will not fear coming to school and that can help more children come to school”236. These two comments, which exemplify the view of many other school going children, show the need for more inclusive schooling, geared at helping children who lag behind rather than top-performers. They also show the importance of curbing teachers’ violence in the class-room, a recurring theme in many interviews with children237.

A group of fathers in Khadakaya suggested a pedagogic way to improve performance of children: “there should be activities in the school so that there is competition among the children and they are motivated to go. There should be prizes. Every week – on Saturday or any other day – such activities should be there; Children should be taught through games/play”. Many others explained the need for separate teachers for different subject matters and different teachers for different classes, denoting a severe lack of teachers in most of the areas of the study (the request for ‘more teachers’ was the most popular among all policy requests). “What would happen if all are together? They keep watch and children play. Children do not fit into room. What is the benefit of sending children to school?”238 A

234 Child non labourers’ mothers, Salem, Tamil Nadu 235 KII Sarpanch, Salem, Tamil Nadu 236 Child non labourers (male), Khadakaya, Rajasthan 237 See for example the FGD with child labourers in Kharbar, where a boy exclaimed that “a lot of childs don't come because they fear that the teacher will hit them”. 238 Child non labourers’ elders in the family, Khadakaya, Rajasthan

Some children expressed a will to keep on working, but on their terms: better conditions, less working hours, etc.


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key informant interview with a teacher revealed concerns relating to the profession. Teachers are “transferred 300 to 500 km away from their native places, and this should not be done, they should do their duty in their native districts compulsorily” he said, explaining how teachers who were sent from other districts “can not understand the Kutchi language and children can not understand the teacher’s language, which ultimately affects the quality of education”239. He also explained that salaries should be increased as an incentive for teachers.

The quality of schools’ infrastructure and services was also questioned by respondents. Many believed that if schools were transformed into better environments, more children could be attracted into the system. As a group of female child labourers said in Samatra, “schools should be cleaned regularly. Dirtiness should be avoided. School should be maintained well so that there is an interest to go to school”240. Many children explained there should be toilets for both males and females in school, as well as clean drinking water, and playgrounds/sport equipment, while adults said there should be more rooms, so classes are kept separate. Children also proposed improving the aesthetic of schools by painting the walls, hanging drawings and maps, and planting trees in the garden. Quite markedly, opinion leaders in only three of the five villages mentioned anything about improving school infrastructure (much as the parents in Tamil Nadu villages, here too, opinion leaders in Tamil Nadu mentioned the need for transport facilities). In Samatra there was even the mention of no need for improvements in the school system. One could argue that the above reflects a poor understanding of the needs of the community by opinion leaders; thus, a strategy that helps influence attitudes and practices of leaders could be one that helps to create more awareness and understanding among them regarding what motivates and constrains children from going to school and what motivates and constrains parents from sending children to school. Drinking water and toilet facilities were emphasised by almost every group in Maharashtra.

Regarding the cost of schooling, most comments were made by families of labouring children, proving the importance of economic barriers to access. A group of fathers in Khadakaya expressed their frustration by saying that “if the cost of education is less on parents or it is born by the government then more children can go to school. In Gujarat the MDM scheme is good, children are given clothes (dresses). In Rajasthan there is nothing. We do what is possible for us and when we do something we find that there are no teachers in the school and there are frequent holidays”241. Other FGDs listed the need for scholarships, free clothing and copy books, and the need to reduce the cost of secondary schooling (this last request mostly on behalf of parents of school going children).

An interesting perspective in relation to how to mainstream children into schooling was given by many teachers and other stakeholders involved in education (social workers, PTA presidents, VEC members, etc), as well as parents. This perspective has been named ‘organization’ as it relates to very local organizational arrangements aimed at facilitating contact between schools and children’ families. A group of mothers in Dharmapuri pointed out the “need for more active parent participation in schools”. "We should ask the teachers whether our children are learning, if we go regularly teachers will become alert and it works on them as vigilance" they said. This perspective was also endorsed by a local NGO worker who pointed out that “all schools should be made accountable for the drop out of school children in their jurisdiction”. “The poor and illiterate fear to go the school and talk to the 239 KII teacher, Bhuwad, Gujarat 240 Child labourers (female), Samatra, Gujarat 241 Child labourers’ fathers, Khadakaya, Rajasthan


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teacher and this person is also not valued. So, who can ask about the situation of the school?” opinion leaders wondered in Khadakaya. A common solution proposed for all of these problems was the strengthening of parent-teacher relationships through PTA meetings, and active engagement on behalf of teachers to involve parents on a personal basis (by going door to door). “Mobilising children” in their homes is the best way to bring people back to school, a teachers said in Dharmapuri. “Because of bad roads teachers don’t go to [children’s] homes to convince, now teachers are made to go door to door” (he said he is participating in the effort and succeeded in re-admitting 5 children). “Such teachers should be there who attract and understand the parents”242 a group of elders said in Bhuwad.

Box 7.11 Improving education: summary of proposed s olutions

The table below gives an overview of suggestions for improvement of schooling by the primary audience. The table is divided by village and focus group type, so as to highlight the differences in opinions across geographical areas and respondent types.

242 Child non labourers’ elders in the family, Bhuwad, Gujarat

First, in terms of ‘access to schooling’, solutions proposed revolve around better roads, hostel accommodation, providing bicycles for underprivileged students, and using local, qualified and trained youth as teachers in hard to reach areas. Second, regarding ‘teacher quality’, the solutions proposed revolve around more training and better trained teachers, more teachers, committed teachers, and no discrimination and abuse of children. Third, regarding infrastructure, solutions proposed relate to better and more school facilities for recreation, separate toilets, more and better MDM food, clean drinking water, clean school surroundings that would encourage school attendance, providing computers and a library, and furniture in classrooms to make learning more comfortable – all are factors that would encourage school uptake. Fourth, more and better access to scholarships/schemes, particularly for poor/marginalised families, could help overcome cost barriers to attendance. Fifth, parental involvement appears to be a critical aspect of school improvement. Some suggested and implied solutions are to have more parental involvement in school activities/PTA meetings, more awareness campaigns around available education schemes particularly for the underprivileged, and the creation of children’s clubs for peer-to-peer support and mentoring.


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Table 7.2 Suggested changes to schooling, primary a udience

Dharmapuri Salem Kharbar Khadakaya Samatra Bhuwad

Khadaki Chandai Ekko


-More teachers -Better accommodation -Head teacher -Play ground and facilities to play games -Toilets, water facility.

-Sufficient teachers including subject teachers - Upgrade school to Hr. Sec level. -Proper transport facility.

-Enough teachers -Good food -Less hitting

-Clothes provided to all children -Cycle

-Paint school -Clean toilets -Games -Remove meth -Maintain cleanliness

Drinking water facilities Desk for sitting Transport

-A peon in the school -Clean school. -Improved building -Transport facility -Improve road -School after 7th std.


-Upgrade school to Hr Sec -Sufficient teachers

-Clean regularly -Cultural activities -Teach properly (not discriminatory) -Teachers should inspire on punctuality

-Upgrade school to 10th -Regular cleaning -Make school attractive by putting paintings

None Better hygiene Better facilities. Toilet facility 10th std school. Drinking water. Peon. Computer. Good teacher. Teachers to teach computer.


-More schools -Upgrade school -Scholarships -Transport facility -No beating

-Better teaching -Less beating

-Clean school regularly. -LCD-Projector should be used in study. -Paint school red -Hang drawings and maps in classes. -Notice board -Different playgrounds -Tube light in the class room. -Sports material should be available in the school

-Grow trees -Make garden -Replace the broken windows, -Dig out the sewerage for bathroom, -Install fans -Teachers motivate parents and friends


-Separate teachers for all subjects, -Sports and Games material, -Good teaching techniques, -Toilets, -Laboratory, -Computers, -Library

-Everything is fine -More teachers -Better teaching

-Cleanliness in the school; -Toilets and bathrooms; -Waste of water; -Stop plucking the leaves of plants; -A good developed garden in the school

-Grow trees, -Convince those who do not wear the uniform, -Repair the doors and windows

Child labourers’ fathers

-Roads -Schools are good but need social welfare hostels

-Reporting system so that teachers go to school -Subsidise cost

-Benefits like accommodation and food -Good caretaker

-Property properly kept -Cleanliness schools

School after seventh standard


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-Better MDM and uniform

-Garden -Hostel facility. -Teacher given responsibility. -Children taught with love and care. -“If children do not listen they should be punished. It would be for their good in future.”

Child labourers’ mothers

-More schools -Better MDM -More teachers -More regular teachers -Transport facility in hilly areas -Scholarships -Breakfast

-More facilities in school -Benches and desks -More teachers

-Don’t know -Scholarships -Drinking water -Toilet facility -School after 7th std. in the village -Desk for sitting -Transport -School should be up to 10th std. so that the girls can go to school.

-Drinking water -Toilet facility -School after 7th std. in the village -Vocational education

Child non-labourers’ fathers

-Compound wall -Scholarship -Less harshness from teachers -More schools in hilly areas -Upgrade school past 10th class -Transport

-More teachers -Teachers to teach well and discipline children -Better use of space -Electricity for after school studying

-Playground -Competitive activities to motivate children -Games -Enough space to sit

-More committed teaching -More teachers -Separate school for low caste/poor children

-Teachers should be held accountable -Equipments funded by donations -Computer teacher

-Desk for sitting. -Teacher should be teaching properly. -School upto10th STD. -Vocational education and agriculture related knowledge

-School after 7th Std. and college up to 12th Std. -Transportation facility -Different teacher to teach different subjects (drawing, computer knowledge, stitching).

Child non-labourers’ mothers

-More active parent participation -Better transport -More schools -More and better teachers

-Upgrade to higher secondary -Transport -More schools

-Upgrade to higher secondary

-Fewer holidays -More teachers -Drinking water -Proper MDM

-Carpet in school -More space -Computer teacher

-Drinking water -Toilets -School up to 10th standard -Transport facilities

-School up to 7th standard

Elders of non-labourers

-More teachers -More teachers -More rooms

-Be stricter with teacher -Establish group of people at district, block

-Different teachers for different subjects -Drinking water -Toilet facility


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and village level to make suggestions -District Panchayat to control, pay and penalise teachers -Playground

-Transport facility

Elders of labourers

-Teachers punished for irregular attendance -More teachers -More schools -Better transport -Residential schools

-Separate schools for different communities -High school in village -Scholarships provided

-Secondary school in village -Give benefits of government schemes

Opinion leaders

-Provide bus facility -More schools -Upgrade existing schools Teachers for all subjects Sports and games Teachers to be benevolent

-Playground -NCLP schools needed in village

-People fear the school so can’t really talk about its quality

-No need for improvement -MDM should work properly -Trust is performing well

-Computer teacher should be appointed -Capacity of building should be increased -Better infrastructure -Sports -Give Rs 100,000 to each girl completing 10th

-School up to 12th standard -Transport facility

-School beyond 7th standard


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7.1.3 Broader Strategies

The last category which was used to analyze responses related to suggestions for policy change is that of government complementary schemes. This includes suggestions for improvement of current schemes and suggestions for new schemes. The underlying idea that links all of the responses in this category is that “poverty is the chief reason for children not going to school. That is the important problem that has to be addressed before making any attempt at addressing the child labour issue”243. According to respondents who presented this point of view, though reforms of the schooling system are useful and necessary, it is only when economic constraints are loosened that child labour can effectively be tackled. Among those who believe that effectively implementing current schemes is all that is needed, speaks a government official from Udaipur, Rajasthan:

“The mindset and worldview cannot change unless there is a change in the economic situation of the families. There is no need for new schemes or new communication strategies. Ensuring proper implementation is what is needed. If the economic situation of the families is improved, then child labour will disappear by itself. Otherwise, no matter what you do, child labour will prevail. There are enough programmes and enough communication ideas. But what is lacking is the implementation”244.

Others who share his view suggested, for example, that NREGA should work more effectively to fight corruption and that the number of days and wages offered by the scheme should be increased245. A few voices also rose against the current system for determining who is entitled to BPL cards. As a group of elders protested in Bhuwad, “People who have power enter in BPL list, benefiting those who have no need (…) Poor people should be entered by doing the proper survey [and there should be a] penalty for those who benefited improperly (…) those people who were in the BPL list 20 year ago, occupy the Maruti Car today!” On the other side of the spectrum, a couple of respondents (from relatively rich backgrounds) presented their own solution to child labour: “parents who do not send their children to schools should not be entitled for any benefit under any government scheme and those who are getting the benefits should see their benefits withdrawn”246. Respondents also requested more scholarships, more reservations for government jobs, more government loan schemes and more financial assistance for businesses. As for suggestions for new policies, most requests were directed towards poverty alleviation schemes and employment schemes, as well as schemes for children of migrant children247, while in Kharbar respondents requested electricity and water provision.

An interesting point of view that sums up many others is that of an NGO worker from the Seva Mandir in Rajasthan. According to him, child labour and cross-border migration can only be ended

“by creating an appropriate environment. This can be done by highlighting the costs and benefits of going for work. Here the economic conditions are not good; if employment were available then children would not go. The parents need money and

243 KII NGO woker, Dharmapuri, Tamil Nadu 244 KII government official, Udaipur, Rajasthan 245 These views were expressed in a number of interviews, across all districts. 246 KII School Development and Management Committee member, Kharbar, Rajasthan. A similar view was expressed by a teacher in Kharbar, Rajasthan 247 See for example interview with Sarpanch in Salem, Tamil Nadu


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if we asked them to send children to school then it would be forcing them to do so. There is need to improve agriculture. Irrigation facilities need to be created. If agriculture is improved then migration for wage labour would not take place. Community leaders may talk about stopping child labour migration but they would not be listened to because people say that they need money and if they stay here then what would they do? Community leaders cannot do anything. There is need for an alternative. Without that alternative community leaders cannot do anything. (…) We [talking about himself] earn so much yet are unable to fulfil needs. Those who do not have regular income how would they survive?

The above broad strategies indicate that there is a need for more information on schemes (regarding both accessibility and availability). In addition, the poor economic conditions faced by large number of families are a major impediment to sending children to school. From all indications, parents would send their children to school if economic constraints were lifted. In this scenario, it becomes imperative to build awareness about employment schemes – how to avail of them, what they provide, etc – without knowledge and access to employment and poverty alleviation schemes and schemes for migrant children, it is challenging to justify sending children to school. Regarding schooling, sharing practical examples of positive role models of families and children from neighbouring communities showing how and why children (especially girls) have completed schooling despite economic hurdles, might help motivate parents to send their children to school.

7.2 Ideas by audience

Going one step further, an interesting step of this analysis is a close-up on who said what with regard to suggestions for policy change: i.e. how children’s opinion differ from adults’, how families with a child labouring background’s opinions differ that from families with school going children, and how opinion leaders and key informants’ opinions differ from focus group opinions.

1. Children opinions vs adult opinions

Children’s opinions were overall directed towards practical changes to the environment they already live, rather than a broader ‘out of the box’ approach to policy change. For the most part, their suggestions dealt with the elimination of constraints and the betterment of conditions within a pre-set framework. So, for example, children’s proposals for improvement hardly ever dealt with the need for a social welfare hostel, improved employment opportunities for their parents, or reduction of costs of schooling; instead, they were focused on the cleanliness of the schooling premises, fixing of broken equipment, availability of toilets for boys and girls, having adequate clothes (uniform) for school, and stopping teachers from beating them. Moreover, labouring children often pointed out changes that would help them within their working environment: working less hours, for more wages, with more time to rest and more flexibility. Parents, on the other hand, stress the need for hostels, more schools and improved access to schooling through transport, better and more diversified meals through the Mid Day Meal scheme and other contextual issues regarding the quality of education and capacity of teachers. Interestingly, most parents felt teachers were not being strict enough, contrasting strongly with children’s pleas to be beaten less.

2. Families of child labourers vs families of school going children

The differences between these two groups were interesting, as they stemmed directly from very different material needs. On one hand, families of child labourers focused mostly on aspects that would help them reduce the cost of schooling, or overcome the


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economic constraints that stop them from sending their children to school. The most popular suggestions for them were the need for scholarships (hardly mentioned by parents of school going children), social welfare hostels (never mentioned by families of school going children), and more food through the MDM scheme. They also often suggested that teachers in school should not be absent or late, denoting a general worry that there is no point of sending children to school if teachers do not do their job. On the other hand, families of school going children focused on improvements that would allow them to prolong the stay of their children in school (for example, by upgrading schools in the village to a higher level, most often secondary school) and improve the quality of schooling (with more teachers, better teaching techniques and better facilities).

3. Focus Group Discussants vs Key Informant Interviews

One last divide which may be interesting to point out is the one between focus group discussants, who are mostly ‘normal’ community members, and people interviewed for Key Informant Interviews, who occupy strategic roles within the community. The main difference is the wider focus of KII responses in relation to strategies for policy change. For example, interviews with teachers, Anganwadi workers, NGO staff, PTA presidents etc highlighted the need for poverty alleviation and employment creation welfare schemes in the area. They also stressed the importance of making personal visits to families to convince them of the benefits of schooling. However, they also stressed some issues that were common to the ones pointed out by FGD discussants, namely the need for more teachers, more social welfare hostels and more scholarships.

• In general, school-going children’s attitude is that given the poor school

environment (dirty schools, dirty/no bathrooms, broken or no equipment/furniture, no fans, etc) they have no motivation to attend school.

• Working children who are compelled to work said that it is the attitude of employees towards them (beating, low wages, inflexible hours, etc) that needs to change and that would help them in their work environment, and also give them the opportunity to attend school.

• Parents’ attitudes reflect scepticism and lack of faith in the quality of education and capacity of teachers, which they see as major barriers to sending children to school.

• Among families of child labourers, attitudes towards sending children to school were related to wider economic constraints rather than to the quality of schooling itself as a barrier to schooling. However, the attitude of families of school-going children was that if schools are upgraded or teacher quality is improved then they are more likely to have their children continue and complete schooling. While school-going children’s families saw the immediate poor school environment as more of a barrier to schooling than economic factors, families of child labourers were more concerned with wider economic improvements that would encourage/motivate them to send children to school (like more scholarships, social welfare hostels, and more and better food in MDM).

• The perception of key community members was that if more information was provided to the community about poverty alleviation and employment welfare schemes, then families may be more likely to avail of such schemes and thus less likely to send their children to work. Key community members also recognise the need for social welfare hostels, scholarships and more teachers, which they say could also motivate families to firstly, send children to school, and secondly, help them complete schooling.


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8 Sources of information: who is credible?

Who is trust-worthy and credible within the community varied largely across respondents. This section sets out these views by audience, in order to feed into the section below on suggestions for communications strategies.

8.1 Primary audiences’ views

Child labourers, both male and female, showed a high degree of trust in their parents. As a group of girls explained in Salem, Tamil Nadu, “they are our well wishers and they will never harm their children”248, also, “they will never leave”249. Elders in their family were also trusted, as they are “old”, so they know more250. Child labourers in all villages said they trusted their friends and relatives, as they know what is best for them and “teach them how to work”251. In Rajasthan especially, friends appear to be one of the driving forces of child labour, with groups of working children convincing their peers of the advantages of work. In Khadakaya, a group of boys said that most of their information they get “from same age friends…if they want to buy a mobile, friends suggest (how to)”252; they also receive information from “friend who have been (to work) earlier”253. Moreover, in Rajasthan, Meths also have an extremely important role for child labourers. Every children’s group in Rajasthan mentioned that they trust Meths because they help to find work. Among child labourers, a strong trust for teachers was evident in Dharmapuri and Samatra, but less so in other areas. In Rajasthan, teachers were never mentioned as a credible source of information. In Tamil Nadu, an interesting trend was the high level of trust that child labourers’ placed in educated people, though no group was able to explain why this was. In Maharashtra, child labourers trust parents, but also other relatives, books, television, doctors, teachers and friends. They have less trust in sources of information with which they do not have regular contact (such as the police chief).

• In general, child labourers (male and female) assign a high degree of trust in their parents, by virtue of the fact that parents don’t leave them alone (suggesting that parents will always look after them) This is followed by trusting elders in the family, based on the fact that they are old and “know more”.

• In Rajasthan particularly, friends are the driving force in terms of being trusted by child labourers

• In Tamil Nadu, teachers are assigned considerable trust by child labourers but with no explanation of why this is the case.

• In Maharashtra, children trust groups with whom they had more regular contact, such as the police chief and gram sevak.

248 Child labourers (female), Salem, Tamil Nadu 249 Child labourers (male), Bhuwad, Gujarat 250 Child labourers (female), Bhuwad, Gujarat 251 Child labourers (male), Bhuwad, Gujarat 252 Child labourers (male), Khadakaya, Rajasthan 253 Child labourers (female), Kharbar, Rajasthan


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Overall, another trend is that child labourers did not place a large amount of trust in community leaders. In Kharbar, though some boys said they trusted the Sarpanch, another couple said that he “eats money”254. In Samatra, boys explained that though they “trust villagers 100%”, they only trust the Sarpanch 40%255. In Dharmapuri, community leaders weren’t even mentioned as a source of information. Only in Bhuwad was the Sarpanch trusted 100%, “because he explains the truth”256. The lack of trust in local leadership is counterbalanced by a relatively high amount of trust in the media, namely television, radio, newspapers and posters. From the My Day exercise conducted with child labourers, it is clear that many watch about an hour or two of television every evening (8-10 o’clock mostly), when they have come back from work257. In Gujarat, where trust in the media was strongest, a group of girls said their favourite TV program is the "Bidai" serial, explaining that "by watching TV we get knowledge"258. Boys and girls in the area also said they believe the "Kutch Mitra Paper"259. In Maharashtra, child labourers showed much less trust in government officials, saying the Sarpanch “does not give true information.”260

Child labourers did not assign much trust in community leaders; they were not even mentioned in Dharmapuri.

This is countered by relatively high trust among child labourers in the media, particularly TV and radio; this was the strongest in Gujarat.

School going children presented a different picture to child labourers regarding credible sources of information in the community. Children from almost all the FGDs said they trusted their teachers 100%. Boys in Dharmapuri explained that “they mostly rely on their teachers for guidance (…) they guide us well”261, while boys in Bhuwad say their teacher is their master, “our Guruji”262. Compared to child labourers, school going children mentioned their parents less often, saying that parents “give birth, culture, nourish us and educate us – they fulfil our needs”263 and explaining that they mostly trust parents for “social issues and domestic matters”264. This is quite a different vision of the role of parents to that of child labourers, where parents are seen as knowing what is right for the child in a more rigid and hierarchic way. Along the same lines, school going children did not mention relatives and friends as much as working children did. When grandparents are mentioned by a focus

254 Child labourers (males), Kharbar, Rajasthan 255 Child labourers (males), Samatra, Gujarat 256 Child labourers (female), Bhuwad, Gujarat 257 This is true for migrant child labourers from Rajasthan as well – children appear to consider watching television as one of the positive experiences of labour (as they sometimes have no electricity in home communities). 258 Child labourers (male), Samatra, Gujarat 259 Child labourers (female), Bhuwad, Gujarat; Child labourers (male), Samatra, Gujarat 260 Child labourers (female), Khadaki, Maharashtra. 261 Child non labourers (male), Dharmapuri, Tamil Nadu. 262 Child non labourers (male), Bhuwad, Gujarat 263 Child non labourers (male), Samatra, Gujarat 264 Child non labourers (male), Salem, Tamil Nadu


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group in Bhuwad, it is because they “tell historical stories, love us and play with us”. In Maharashtra, non-labouring children trusted their teachers and anwanwadi workers.

Another interesting result is the trust of school going children for newspapers and television – in three focus groups, for example, newspapers were mentioned as the most trustworthy source of information265. According to the children newspapers “inform about events”266, while, similarly, television “gives the truth and fresh news”267, “provides real news”268. Regarding attitude to community leaders, school going children showed overall more trust than child workers. Most groups revealed high levels of trust (mostly 100%) for the Sarpanch and village elders, with one girl in Dharmapuri saying that “the president will know what is good and what is bad for the village, hence we trust him”. Within all the focus groups, other trust-worthy figures include nurses (they immunize children), Anganwadis (they keep children happy), NGOs (they give education, awareness and guidance), the police (they protect us and “catches those who are drinking wine”269), and, in Gujarat, politician Narendra Modi (he provided facilities).

Among school going children, almost all said, not surprisingly, that they trust teachers almost completely (100%). They mention parents as source of trust much less often than did child labourers. Overall, they assign more trust for opinion/community leaders than did child labourers.

Other sources of credible information cited by school going children were anganwadi workers, nurses, NGOs and the police

Parents of child labourers were quite consistent with the answers of their children, with the exception that their most-trustworthy source was not ‘parents’, but mostly community leaders (with the exception of Kharbar and Khadakaya, where a corrupt leadership appears to have alienated many villagers270). In Dharmapuri, fathers said the “president of the Panchayat is the most trustworthy person”271; in Salem, a group of men reported that they “trust the village president 75%”272; while in Bhuwad others said they “trust the Sarpanch because he provides true information”273. However, the general feeling from the interviews is that respondents trusted community leaders because they were the only people who could give them access to information, rather than because of a real feeling of inclusion and trust. As a group of female respondents pointed out, “we trust the Sarpanch, but we can only know when someone comes to our house and informs us. No one tells us about Gramsabha. No one tell us even if we go in the village. Villagers and shopkeepers also do not tell us anything”. This need for inclusion also comes out in another FGD, where the interviewers

265 Some children read newspapers in class with their teachers, see for example Child non labourers (female), Kharbar, Rajasthan 266 Child non labourers (female), Bhuwad, Gujarat 267 Child non labourers (male), Samatra, Gujarat 268 Child non labourers (male), Bhuwad, Gujarat 269 Child non labourers (male), Samatra, Gujarat 270 Details in other sections of the report. See for example section 6.2. 271 Child labourers’ fathers, Dharmapuri, Tamil Nadu 272 Child labourers’ fathers, Salem, Tamil Nadu 273 Child labourers’ fathers, Bhuwad, Gujarat


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from the team were told that they were the most trusted, together with close friends and family: “you came to hear us two to three times. Even after dusk you are sitting with us and giving us information, that’s why we believe in you"274.

Another trend within parents of child labourers was the fact that teachers weren’t really mentioned as a trustworthy source of information (with the only exception of Dharmapuri), even though sometimes some of their children are in school (while others work to provide for them). A couple of interviews, however, showed a high level of trust for educated people in the community. “Literate people inform us about what is in the posters and slogans275” and they also “help to read the newspaper” the elders explained in Bhuwad. Less mentioned trusted sources of information included NGOs (in Gujarat only) and newspapers and television. Though many of the respondents in this category were illiterate, a few revealed that literate family members and friends read them the news at times. In Kharbar and Bhuwad people complained of no or low coverage of network for televisions, while in Salem most men said they watch “Sun Network”276.

Parents of child workers also gave an interesting picture of what forms of communications worked best for them and what kind of person they tend to trust the most: “The person who proclaims and provides services or who can do the work, we trust them”277; “we believe in one who does good work and talks well”278. As for means of communication they prefer, “we understand photos, banners and Mr. Narendra Modi’s photo” a female FGD said in Samatra. Fathers in Bhuwad explained they “trust posters” as they “learn by seeing photos”279 while mothers said they trust “announcements in the village”280. In Maharashtra, child labourers’ parents trusted television (that shows “true and right information”281) and other media.

Parents of child workers cited community leaders as the most trustworthy source of information (with the exception of parents in Rajasthan, where local corruption seems to have alienated many parents). General sense from interviews was that reasons for this trust were more to do with such leaders being the only source of access to information and less to do with a real feeling of inclusion and trust.

Parents of child workers did not trust teachers (exception was Dharmapuri) despite some of them having children in the school system.

Parents of school-going children mentioned teachers as a trustworthy source of information surprisingly little282. Those who did were mostly female (mothers), and said they trust teachers “in matters of children’s education” specifying that this is because “they inform

274 Child labourers’ fathers, Samatra, Gujarat 275 Child labourers’ elders in the family, Bhuwad, Gujarat 276 Child labourers’ fathers, Salem, Tamil Nadu 277 Child labourers’ mothers, Samatra, Gujarat 278 Child labourers’ fathers, Samatra, Gujarat 279 Child labourers’ fathers, Bhuwad, Gujarat 280 Child labourers’ mothers, Bhuwad, Gujarat 281 Child labourers’ fathers, Khadaki, Maharashtra 282 Parents in both Rajasthan villages, for example, did not say they trusted teachers, though they also expressed very little trust in any institution but friends/relatives.


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about the progress of the children and give good advice”283. For similar reasons, they trusted PTA meetings – fathers in Salem said the PTA president had warned them against child labour284. Respondents from a focus group in Salem specified that since the arrival of a new headmaster “things improved drastically” in their school, showing how the work of motivated and dedicated individuals can trigger change and trust.

The recounting of an experience from Khadakaya may help to understand why none of the focus groups with parents of school-going children in Rajasthan expressed any trust in teachers:

“Parents are called once or twice – on 15th August or 26th Jan. Parents themselves do not go to school. They are afraid that Mastersaab [teacher] may trap them in some rules. Those who are educated they send their children in private schools and parents whose children study in private schools they write off the Government school from their memory.”

Trends regarding relationships to authority (at the community and wider level) within FGDs with family members of school-going children varied largely across the sample, reflecting the diverse political backgrounds that prevail in each area in the study. While in Kharbar and Khadakaya most respondents claimed they did not trust authorities, in Bhuwad and Salem, for example, both local and central authorities received a high level of endorsement. Regarding village authorities, female discussants in Salem claimed that “they all trust the President of the village as he promptly informs them about the schemes that they are eligible for”285. Regarding central government, respondents in Bhuwad said that “officials provide information by visiting the village286”, while a group of fathers in Salem explained that “they trust the government 100% as no government does any harm to its citizens, informing them about various things through GOs, TV, and Posters etc”287. Despite this generally positive picture, some respondents revealed they never really participated in Gram Sabhas (some said it was because they don’t “pass any resolutions”288), while women appeared to be excluded from any community decision-making or information-sharing. As a female FGD pointed out in Kharbar, “The Sarpanch is like the researchers. You said you came to talk to us. But you didn’t come to our house. You sent word for us and we came. Similarly, when the Sarpanch has anything to tell us, he sends word for us and we get the information. We do not get general information otherwise”.

283 Child non labourers’ fathers, Salem, Tamil Nadu 284 Child non labourers’ fathers, Salem, Tamil Nadu 285 Child non labourers’ mothers, Salem, Tamil Nadu 286 Child non labourers’ elders in their families, Bhuwad, Gujarat 287 Child non labourers’ fathers, Salem, Tamil Nadu 288 Child non labourers’ elders in their families, Bhuwad, Gujarat


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Figure 8.5 Credible source diagram, child non labou rers’ fathers, Chandai Ekko (Maharashtra)

Source: drawn by researchers during FGD

Among this category of respondents, newspapers and television were widely mentioned as trust-worthy sources of information, in Gujarat and Maharashtra especially. Mothers in Bhuwad said they watch “ETV Gujarati”, while both fathers and elders in Samatra said they trusted “TV and newspapers the most”. In Khadaki in Maharashtra, mothers of child non-labourers reported that “all watch tv so it has to be true.” Other useful forms of communication mentioned were tam-tam, posters and slogans (“100% credibility”289), talks from spiritual leaders, and wall writings. Also, one respondent explained how credibility is gained through education: “A right person should glorify the right position (…) If the Taluka President and Sarpanch are illiterate, then an educated person can be the fit person for that position, they can make the progress”290. In Kharbar, a group of fathers gave an interesting anecdote regarding who gives respect to whom and why:

“The Adivasi samaj leadership tried to organize meeting in the village and talk to parents about the ill effects of sending children for paid work, about spending less on

289 Child non labourers’ fathers, Bhuwad, Gujarat 290 Child non labourers’ elders in their families, Bhuwad, Gujarat. “The current president of Taluka Panchayat is illiterate, when somebody goes to him and give a complaint in written he simply put it in his pocket, he is unable to read it, he feels ashamed”


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rituals, about not wasting money on alcohol, about sending children to school until they are 20, but people resisted and said we know what do to and do not want to listen to any samaj. People who have money do not want to listen to the samaj. The poor might consider what the samaj is saying. Money also gives power and strength. So, the rest of us have to fear them”.

Moreover, among the categories of people who parents of school-going children don’t trust are meths291 and companies (“companies are blood seekers”292).

Parents of school going children gave very little mention of teachers as a trusted source of information; those who did, were mostly mothers.

The large variation in trust towards figures of authority reflects diverse political background and influence across study areas (in both Rajasthan villages, parents had no trust in authority; in Bhuwad and Salem both central and local authority were highly trusted).

Media (TV, radio) were widely trusted sources of information among parents of school going children, especially in Gujarat.

Focus groups with opinion leaders were less useful to untangle issues of trust and credibility. One useful FGD, however, was conducted in Khadakaya, Rajasthan, where opinion leaders explained how “there is a problem with the village: people who are aware, who can talk, send their children to private schools. So, they have nothing to do with Govt. school. The poor and illiterate fear to go the school and talk to the teacher and this person is also not valued. So, who can ask about the situation of the school?”293 Moreover, the Samaj Sangatan was mentioned as a positive influence in the village, ensuring that children only marry after 18 and that marriages cost less (so people don't indebt themselves excessively)294.

8.2 Secondary audiences’ view

Interviews with the secondary audience highlighted more specific aspects related to what is actually happening in some of the study areas, including interesting opinions and suggestions for change with respect to how to build trust and credibility of people and programs. According to respondents’ positions, different answers were elicited.

Teachers, PTA presidents, Village Education Committee (VEC) members and School Development and Management Committee members pointed out some success stories in bringing children back to school, highlighting the importance of developing an effective communication between teachers and students’ families so as to develop trust and induce change. Successful strategies were mostly centred around contacting parents directly in their homes. “The village president and school committee president together went door to door to

291 Child non labourers’ mothers, Kharbar, Rajasthan 292 Child non labourers’ elders in their families, Bhuwad, Gujarat 293 Opinion leaders, Khadakaya, Rajasthan 294 As the opinion leaders explained, “the Samaj Sangatan checked the age of the couple and made sure they were above 18. In the past, the expenses were high – Samaj has lowered them. Now they make 2 things – 30 tola chandi (one tola is 10 grms, silver) and 1 kata gold. They feed the barat. If we follow the rules of the Samaj we can do it in Rs 30,000 – 35,000, otherwise it can be up to 1.5 lakh”.


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the houses of farmers of seed cotton and warned them a severe action if they employ children. Since then the acreage of seed farms has drastically come down”, said a teacher in Salem. In Dharmapuri, another teacher stressed that regular PTA meetings would be an ideal solution, but in practise “mobilising children” in their homes is the best way: “because of bad roads teachers don’t go to [children’s] homes to convince. Now teachers are made to go door to door”. He said he is participating in the effort and succeeded in re admitting 5 children. In Samatra as well, a VEC committee member said he believes that “parents of backward class should be personally visited and made aware [of the benefits of education]. If they understand then they will be benefited”. He suggested passing on the message through family visits, meetings, organization of skits and dramas, and awareness building through social workers and members of VEC. A VEC member in Bhuwad confirmed the importance of this personalized and case-by-case approach, saying that parents should be convinced “through conversations”. He also said he had seen a documentary “in which the benefits of educating a girl were pictured” which he found very useful – he believes more efforts of that kind should be made, making films “comparing literates and illiterates, so people know the difference”.

In Salem, the president of the PTA association explained that “if any child doesn’t attend school we take their names and talk to their parents, enquire about them and send them to school. Even if their academic performance is low we go to their homes and warn their parents. We convince children, encourage them take these things supportively”. He believes that thanks to this supportive attitude, there is no child labour left in the village. Even if this were not entirely true, this positive attitude towards poor performers – whereby teachers’ success is measured on the basis of their worst rather than best achievers – appears to be an essential element of any effort to bring children back into school.

Village Sarpanches gave practical suggestions as to what institutional arrangements may facilitate the flow of information and therefore allow trust-building. One Sarpanch suggested increasing the relationship between teachers and village leaders, ensuring, for example that ward members visit the school regularly295. Another said the “education department and labour department should be more engaged in these activities [reducing child labour]”296, as well as NGOs. This last view was echoed by the Sarpanch in Bhuwad, who believed that “If the women from the organization [NGO] come and convince the people to remove the social evils then the social evils can be reduced. We can convince the society about the disadvantages of child labour with the help of community leaders”. In Maharashtra, the Sarpanches mentioned the possibility of using youth groups.

The experience of one Anganwadi worker in Kharbar exemplifies one of the major problems in trust-building, namely the fact that people prefer to listen to representatives from their same social background:

“You will have to talk to the parents to know their reasons. We Anganwadi workers ask them why they send the children to so far off places where your children can fall sick? They say “is behanji ko rehenedo.. inko thanka aa rahi hai. Isiliya ye aad me bolthi hai”. [Don’t listen to this behanji. She gets salary and that is why she says all this.] Once I told a woman who has 12 children to get operated. She said “what is your problem, are you giving me food from your house? We will eat what we can afford” after that I stopped giving advice to anyone”.

295 KII Sarpanch, Dharmapuri, Tamil Nadu 296 KII Sarpanch, Salem, Tamil Nadu


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The opinion of labour officers, government officials and employers is useful to give an idea of a more general perception of the successes and failures of policies that try to curb the phenomenon of child labour, as well as some insights into why they may have succeeded/failed. This indirectly feeds into the discourse of credibility, as it hints as to why some government efforts have not taken off as much as they were expected to (credibility of policy, rather than people). As an employer in Tamil Nadu explained, for example,

“In the last two years government is asking not to employ children in cottonseed farms. Labour officers are visiting the farms and asking farmers not to employ children. Seed companies (like Salvam, a local company working as an organiser for Monsanto) are also asking us not to employ children. They also gave bonus for farmers for not employing children”.

The employer, however, did not ‘trust’ this policy and felt seriously disadvantaged by it. He explained how employing adults “doubled his costs” and how this was not adequately compensated through increased prices of cotton seed. The consequence was that he changed seed company (choosing one that did not enforce the ban) and reduced cultivation under cotton seed because of the previous years’ losses. This story proves that policies (and, in this case, progressive seed companies) are only credible when they preach something which is practicable and understandable.

The opinion of a government official in Udaipur tells a similar story, related to checkposts for child labourers.

“The official answer? Awareness is created that child labour is bad. The news comes in the paper. People become more alerted and this stems the migration. The unofficial answer? This is like water. Where there is demand, labour (children or adults) will move there. For people, this is like investment and training for them. Checkposts can stop a few people, but only temporarily. (…) We have arrested a few people who take children. When you went to the villages, they must have told you that they did not send the children because of the checks. But that is not the reality. When we catch a vehicle with children, we are in a fix too. We need to distinguish between voluntary and forced migration. Sometimes, the children say they are going to meet their relatives in Gujarat”.

The feeling which comes out of this interview is that checkposts may be useful in the brief term, but because of very practical constraints, people find a way to avoid them. To be credible, a policy has to be actionable. In order to bridge this trust-gap between the police departments and people from the villages, the Udaipur police department has set up Community Liaison Groups (CLG) “which motivate people to come to the mainstream”. In the words of the official:

The idea of what is mainstream and who should be brought in is itself debatable and people are arguing on this these days. The main work of CLG is to bridge the lack of understanding between people and police. Many times, people do not know what the police are for and police do not know what the people expect from them. The idea of CLG is to talk to people about social evils which cause crime (like drinking) and encourage people to follow rules etc.

As with the opinion of teachers in relation to education, the police department has chosen to tackle their problems on an extremely personalized community-by-community basis, building up trust and credibility through ongoing interaction.

NGOs are a specific group who could conceivably play an important role in a communications strategy. Typically, however, NGOs are little known by respondents in most of the communities in which fieldwork was conducted. 84 groups did not mention NGOs at


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all. Most references were in Gujarat, where 11 primary audiences mentioned NGOs. In Tamil Nadu, 1 primary group mentioned NGOs, and no primary groups mentioned them in Rajasthan or Maharashtra.

In Salem, the Panchayat president showed a willingness to engage with NGOs on child labour, should any chose to work. In Rajasthan, a government official emphasised the importance of NGOs’ work to create awareness at the community level on child labour, especially as the government retains a permissive attitude to wards child labour.

In Gujarat, primary audience presented mixed feeling about NGOs. While some primary audiences (children, parents, and elders) trusted NGOs, particularly as they are outsiders, others (in the same categories) placed NGOs lower on or at the bottom of the list of things that they trust. It appeared that respondents in Bhuwad are more trusting of NGOs than in Samatra, but it is not clear whether this is connected to specific experiences in these two villages. As in Tamil Nadu, village officials in Gujarat were enthusiastic about NGOs working in their communities.

The above section on secondary audience views highlights opinions and suggestions for change that could lead to building trust/credibility of people and programmes:

1. Teachers, PTA, various school committee members, all emphasised strong communication between parents and teachers to develop trust and induce change; they mentioned the importance of case-by-case approach to all parents (of child labourers and of school going children) to encourage them to send children to school or to continue keeping them in school.

2. The village Sarpanches stressed the importance of improving the relationship between teachers and village elders, for example, by ensuring that ward members visit schools more regularly, by trying to engage education and labour departments and NGOs in activities that could reduce child labour.

3. Labour and other government officials, and employers: there is low trust in policy implementation strategies, particularly among employers who felt that government policy to ban child labour is not a practical and viable option for them since it leads to increased cost of production (adult labour is more expensive than child labour). Similarly, checkposts are seen as only a stopgap measure and don’t foster trust between police and community members; to be credible, the policy has to actionable and sustainable. For e.g., Rajasthan police are building trust through personal interaction with the community.

4. NGOs, though little known and not very credible with respondents, can play an important role as a catalyst for change by bringing community members together to try and create awareness around child labour and other related issues.

8.3 Conclusions: who to target and how

From this discussion, some general issues can be flagged:

• People prefer to listen to others from the same social background. For example, an Anganwadi worker in Kharbar not trusted because she is ‘making money’ and of meths who are trusted because ‘they know our situation’), rather than abstract models of positive behaviour. In Maharashtra, children tend to trust those who they are in regular contact with. This implies a need for local role models who can inspire children as to the


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practical long term benefits of education. This opinion is reinforced by the generalized level of trustworthiness which was attributed to local educated people.

• A large role can be played by ‘dedicated individuals’ (charismatic personalities or champions). Examples of this from the data were provided by the Samaj Sangatan in Khadakaya, who succeeded in reducing the cost of marriage; and the persuasive new head teacher who greatly improving quality of schooling. For this reason, it is worth spending time individuating authorities/people who can become motors of change in local communities.

• Different age groups need to be targeted in different ways. With children specifically, there is a need to help them think ‘outside of the box’. Children’s complaints and suggestions for change are constrained by existing situations (improve what you have rather than ask for something different/new). Maybe create more awareness of options? Creating a feeling that things can be changed with a common effort?

• Marginalized households feel no incentive to engage with those who deny them voice (exemplified by conversation with researchers where FGD respondents said they trusted them because they had gone to their house and listened to them directly, rather than refer a message indirectly, as community leaders usually do). Importance of personal engagement.

• There seems to be a lack of a physical space in villages where information is widely shared. Spaces are more neutral than people. The school could become a place where adults are also invited, where a room is created for bill-board, posters, exchange of knowledge etc.

• Policies and communication strategies need to be understood in order for them to be followed. The examples provided on the failure of road blocks and child labour bans on cotton farms exemplify this .

Whom to target and how:

1. Local role models can inspire children to see the practical long term benefits of education;

2. Charismatic personalities who can champion a social cause such as reducing the cost of marriage or an inspiring teacher who can improve the quality of schooling. It is worth identifying such individuals and making them more visible to local authorities as motors of positive change in the community;

3. Target different age groups differently, particularly for children by making them more aware of their existing options and fostering a sense among them that change can happen with collective effort and will;

4. Importance of personal engagement, particularly with marginalised households in the community would go a long way in building trust and confidence;

5. Creating neutral spaces in the village for information exchange and sharing could encourage participation in information sharing by anyone;

6. Policies and communication strategies need to be articulated in a way that they can be understood in the local context by the community and its leaders


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9 Implications for communications strategies

This section outlines some implications for designing communication strategies that will impact outcomes that are in the best interest of children engaged in child labour. The formative research provides some insight on the perceptions of child workers, their parents, and key secondary audiences such as teachers, contractors, NGO workers etc. It has also highlighted in detail the constraints on families where children are engaged in child labour. The study provides an in-depth understanding on the social and economic pressures that compel families to send their children to work. It indicated that there are several degrees and levels of child labour and suggests a continuum on which they operate.

9.1 Introduction and overview

The study has identified structural factors as well as household and community level factors that contribute to the problem of child labour. The structural factors need to be addressed by advocacy campaigns and the other factors by persuasive campaigns. The first set of factors is linked to influencing the policy debate and consequently influencing policy implementation. The second set of factors is linked to information asymmetries, perceptions of parents of child workers and of child workers themselves.

Table 9.3 Factors Associated with Child Labour

Factors Associated with Child Labour

Structural Factors Factors Likely to Change by Persuasive Campaigns

Subsistence Needs Information Asymmetries

Seasonality of local labour Perceptions around income pay offs

Unavailability of credit markets Developmental benefits

Lack of schools/free transport Social benefits

Lack of facilities at schools (toilets etc.) Penalties

Indirect costs of schooling Immediate well being

School – quality issues

No support for migrant families

Two primary campaigns are suggested. Each campaign can be implemented at the mass media, facility (school), community and household level. They are:

(1) Advocacy campaigns using a rights based approach for addressing structural factors

(2) Persuasive campaigns for parents, sub caste leaders and teachers

A brief overview of these two approaches will be given here, while more detailed suggestions are outlined in the sections below.


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9.1.2 Advocacy campaigns using a rights-based appro ach

The study has identified structural factors that are likely to change only through the effective and impartial implementation of government schemes and policies. Where the household budget constraint and other structural constraints are the most binding issue in the household decision making process, communications strategies directed at households and villages may have limited usefulness, as households themselves might like to make other choices but feel compelled to send children to work. In these instances, communications strategies are more likely to help at a higher policy advocacy level.

At a centralized level, this could involve:

(a) Policy formulation: where further poverty reduction or income support policies may be required, communication can focus on building the understanding for policy-makers on the links between policy options and the reduction of child labour.

(b) Resource allocation: where policies are in place, advocacy efforts can be focused on ensuring adequate funding for programmes.

(c) Budget execution/Programme implementation: Where programmes are funded, the next area relates to the efficiency and effectiveness of implementation (for example, in the better implementation of NREGA or mid-day meal scheme).

(d) Evaluation: Given the overall lack of good evaluation data on child labour, there are entry points for a communications strategy to ensure that child labour outcomes are included in evaluation results for a range of relevant programmes (again, in particular NREGA but also SSA or ICDS) and that these results are communicated effectively to policy-makers and donors.

At a lower, localized level it would involve changing the behaviour of officials and creating a conducive local environment. The campaigns could include:

(a) Increasing knowledge related to government schemes and policies (NREGA, right to education, free transportation to school (for instance under the Right to Education Act (RTE)) etc.);

(b) Creating a conducive local environment to facilitate the effective implementation of these policies and schemes.

(c) Creating community pressure groups to demand rights

The advocacy campaign should include support mechanisms such as a “Helpline” where people can register their complaints.

9.1.3 Persuasive campaigns for parents, teachers, c ommunity & sub caste/clan leaders

Where household preferences (and not subsistence needs or external obligations) determine children’s work/school/leisure time allocation, there is scope for direct communications strategies at the household level to influence how households view the trade-off between child work and education (assuming a basic level of household consumption). Factors that can be influenced/altered by persuasive campaigns therefore include:


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(a) when decision-makers face information asymmetries about tradeoffs, pushing them to choose work when they would chose school if they had full information. For example, decision-makers may be pushing children to work because they are not be able to fully assess the productivity benefits of school (especially for girls), or the well-being benefits of leisure, or the harm caused by child labour;

(b) when decision-makers are influenced by social norms: for example, when they perceive higher social benefits of girls working because girls are more attractive in the marriage market after work or when the importance of dowries is overvalued

(c) when short-term benefits are over-valued: for example, children generally consider both work and school to have benefits in terms of immediate wellbeing;

(d) when decision-makers are unsure about whether school or work confer developmental benefits; and

In this context, persuasive campaigns can be designed for specific groups within the community such as parents of child workers, teachers, or community leaders. Local “champions” or mentors are credible sources and need to be identified in every community group (this will be explored in more detail).

Mass media campaigns can include sources that communities with child labour find credible. For example, an important finding from the data was that child labourers and their parents identify with members of their own community and similar social background.

A campaign to motivate teachers would have significant returns. The teacher is a nodal factor in ensuring that children remain in school. Participants in the study report that often teachers are not available but also that children are publically reprimanded for not attending school or beaten. Children are also discouraged if they do not perform well in school, leading them to take failure as a sign of ineptitude for schooling. All these factors further de-motivate a child from returning to school.

The persuasive campaign should target sub-caste and sub-clan leaders to address the issue of high expenses during weddings and dowry. If a decision is arrived at for the entire clan or sub-caste, it is binding for individual households to follow.

9.1.4 Overview of communication approaches

From a general point of view, campaigns aimed at affecting communities and households could use multiple approaches, not primarily confined to “awareness creation”. In addition, they could also encompass cultural and social factors that are rooted in and relevant to the communities that have child workers. These communication approaches include using (a) social influence, (b) compassion (c) use of local “mentors” (d) constructs, stories, mythologies that are locally relevant.

(a) Social Influence

Social influence approaches recognize that the opinions, values and behaviours of the immediate clan or sub-clan exert enormous pressure and influences on members and households belonging to that clan. However, media campaigns usually highlight individual gain and benefit in communities where maintaining social ties and social cohesion are core values. Media campaigns should depict the views of the immediate social group and use that


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to exert pressure on households that send their children to work. This links to the “credible” source identified by study participants.

(b) Compassion

Compassion, or “Sahradaya”, should be a core component in the communication campaign, especially in the campaign for teachers. Also in the campaigns directed towards local leaders who manage and operate government schemes. Compassion on the part of the teacher, can determine whether a child stays in school or not. Campaigns should focus on the importance of “compassion”.

(c) Use of “local” mentors or champions

The study has highlighted to importance of “personal engagement”. This is extremely important from an Indian perspective, where interpersonal engagement builds a bond between two persons. Therefore the campaign strategy should include the identification of “local champions” who can advocate for children to be in school but who can also address the barriers with adequate knowledge of local conditions and issues.

(d) Local constructs, stories, mythologies

Constructs such as respect, social ties etc. should be incorporated into persuasive campaigns, as should stories linked to local folk lore and mythology.

9.2 Structural factors: understanding the main cons traints

This section, which builds upon the main findings from the study (taking many of the respondents’ suggestions as a starting point) will focus specifically on structural factors that affect the choice of child labour over schooling and it will attempt to provide suggestions for appropriate responses to such problems.

9.2.1 What are structural factors?

As set out in the conceptual framework and analysed in previous sections of this report, child labour involves complex interactions between many factors operating at the household and individual levels. Below is a list of key structural factors that are not likely to change by a communications strategy alone:

1. The first key constraint on attending school, analyzed in previous sections of this report, is the need of households first to satisfy basic subsistence needs and second to maintain their productive asset base. No matter how enticing school may be and how informed parents are, if a household is not able to provide adequate food to sustain its members it will prefer to adopt sub-optimal strategies, including sending their children to work.

2. This constraint is linked to constraints in local labour markets. First, labour markets in these areas are often scarce and segmented. Most respondents reported not having enough availability of work opportunities, while others complained that additional years of education had no real effect on job opportunities. Moreover, agricultural labour markets, in cottonseed specifically, are highly seasonal by nature. Peak demand in one season when work is scarce at other times of year is an important structural push factor for families who choose to send their children to work.

3. Another important constraint is determined by the unavailability of credit markets in the study areas, which drives families to rely on informal loans and advances from meths. It


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is also linked to the lack of agricultural insurance, which would help households sustain the negative consequences of crop-failure.

4. From the point of view of education, the lack of schools or free of cost transport facilities was an essential factor that affected families’ preference structures. Evidence from Tamil Nadu showed that families from hilly areas with low access to schooling were most likely to send their children to work instead. Moreover, school dropouts after primary school blamed the lack of a secondary school as the key reason for not continuing their studies.

5. A lack of adequate facilities, specifically toilets, drinking water and a sufficient number of rooms, was also consistently mentioned by respondents as a factor detracting from the value of schooling.

6. Another structural factor, which is not likely to change through communications strategies, is the indirect cost of schooling. Families from the poorest backgrounds reported suffering the costs of buying uniforms and clean clothes for their children, as well as notebooks. These costs were particularly significant for secondary schooling, where even families from relatively better-off backgrounds felt that costs were an impediment to schooling.

7. Even when schools are available and financially accessible, a further factor that discourages families from choosing schooling over work is the scarce quality of schooling itself. This is due to a lack of teachers, as well as a lack of teacher motivation and monitoring.

8. Another important factor, which is specific to some areas more than others, is the lack of adequate support for children of migrant families. Bhagiya families in Gujarat, for example, migrate with their children, who are often left out of the formal education system, working with their parents in the fields.

9.2.2 What would be appropriate policy responses to structural factors?

While it is unlikely that single actions will have significant effects in reducing child labour, there is a wide range of policies that have proved to be effective in tackling some of the structural tradeoffs faced by families between child labour and schooling. The role of a communications strategy in this context would be that of advocating government to implement such policies, building the understanding for policy-makers on the links between policy options and the reduction of child labour and pushing for adequate funding of such efforts. Further communication efforts should also be made to make sure that programme’s target evaluation indicators include information around the reduction of child labour.

This section aims to briefly discuss these policies, presenting specific policy solutions for each of the structural constraints presented above. This list does not intend to be exhaustive; it simply provides an indicative overview of the main constraints that could be loosened through adequate policy intervention. It should be noted, moreover, that a further set of local advocacy strategies aimed at changing the practical constraints faced by households will be set out in section 9.3.2.

Problems 1 & 2: Need of households first to satisfy basic subsistence needs and second to maintain their productive asset base, linked to constraints in local labour markets.

a. Create more job opportunities by setting up industries in rural areas b. Increase irrigation facilities (job creation) c. Increase days of work under NREGA


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d. Fight corruption within NREGA that leads to reduced number of days and reduced wages e. Ensure better BPL targeting f. In cotton sector, increase local wages by pressurising seed companies to pay higher

amounts g. Create village-level information centres for local employment opportunities, possibly in a

neutral space (ex. schools rather than Panchayat office). h. Provide skill training Problem 3: Unavailability of credit markets and lack of agricultural insurance

a. Provide crop loans and loans for business in rural areas b. Provide agricultural insurance for systematic crop failure c. Regularize the role of the met, forcing middle men to provide only adult labour d. Provide alternative livelihoods for meths Problem 4: lack of access to schools and free transport facilities

a. Provide transport free of cost b. Provide increased social welfare hostel accommodation c. Increase number of schools d. Increase coverage of secondary schooling (schools must be upgraded to class 10 and all

education up to class 10 should be made free. Current system of having school only up to seventh pushes children into labour market at the age of 12 or 13. This is not in conformity with the recently legislated Right to Education law that make education free and compulsory up to 14 years of age)

e. Education departments should arrange for special transport facilities to pick up and drop off children located in distant locations.

Problem 5: Lack of adequate school facilities

a. Provide better school buildings (with compound wall and sufficient number of rooms) b. Provide playgrounds c. Provide drinking water d. Provide adequate toilets, separated by sex e. Simple improvements to the school building and grounds, perhaps with community and

child engagement, could contribute substantially to children’s enjoyment of school. These activities could include collective (including the teachers) planting trees, painting, creating maps and drawings with which to decorate the school.

Problem 6: Indirect cost of schooling

a. Provide more scholarships b. Free education should include cost of books, writing material, copy books, dress

including shoes, transportation cost, if any. Rules made under the right to education act should clearly incorporate these provisions while defining ‘free and compulsory’ education.


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c. Lower cost of secondary schooling (schools must be upgraded to class 10 and all education up to class 10 should be made free)

Problem 7: Scarce high quality schooling

a. Sufficient number of teachers should be immediately appointed b. Ensure better recruitment and placement of qualified teachers c. Provide additional training to teachers and Anganwadi workers d. Arrange for counselling and evening classes for children e. Ensure spread of Parent-Teacher associations and frequent meetings f. Increase vocational training courses g. Increase supervision, monitoring and management of education departments Problem 8: Lack of adequate support for children from migrant families

a. Education departments should issue a notification that no transfer certificate is needed to admit children of migrant labourers in local schools

b. Active efforts should be made to register migrant families in destination villages. For example, in Gujarat , the team’s proposal was that all the landlords employing Bhagiya must inform the VEC and The Panchayat office about the details of the Bhagiya, including date of arrival, terms of agreement, family details, and details of children up to 18 years of age. Since most of the Bhagiyas in the area are from within Gujarat, language is not a problem.

c. Labour departments should clarify the status of migrant workers. For example, this applies for the Bhagiyas in Gujarat, who are perhaps the cheapest labour unit in Indian labour markets.

9.3 Non-structural factors: need for persuasive cam paigns

As explained above, this section focuses on addressing constraints that relate to households’ preferences. In this context, persuasive campaigns can be useful to influence how households value the trade-off between child work and education.

Findings in each category will be presented in the form of a matrix that presents causes of the problem, the audience targeted, the point of view that reinforces child labour, a method for changing this point of view, and a credible source of information to make this change. Moreover, where there are evident differences between states, small state-specific sub-paragraphs have been added where additional information is useful to identify appropriate local communications strategies.

9.3.1 Addressing information asymmetries

The first category of factors that are amenable to change through a communications strategy refers to decision-makers’ lack of information about tradeoffs around child labour, education and leisure. Data indicate that key decision-makers are usually adults, with the exception of Rajasthan and Gujarat where children appear to have more decisional power. This section explores how decision-makers’ perceptions of those factors may be changed through communications policies.


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9.3.1.1 Income and employment The first comparison is between the productivity tradeoffs between work and school. This section sets future productivity benefits of school (usually considered the most important benefit of school) against the immediate income benefits and future productivity benefits of work. On this axis, essentially, decision-makers consider work to be more beneficial for incomes than school, and tend to allocate low education time to children as a result. As suggested above, much of this is related to segmented labour markets: decision-makers do not perceive school to be as beneficial as work as a preparation for further employment. This is because of the common experience that children, however educated, will not find jobs in skilled sectors of the economy. Nevertheless, there are indications that this perception does not reflect current reality.

Ideas for strategies around this tradeoff are set out in Table 9.4. These strategies revolve around showing decision-makers that the job market is more conducive to income benefits than they currently think. Emphasis will have to be made on changes to job markets and required skills in common jobs. In order to persuade decision makers, examples of individuals from their own communities that have achieved better paid employment should be used. This approach will require not only mass media campaigns, but also more specific and focused door-to-door communication and community level interventions. These could be largely implemented through outside actors, but using local examples and role models would be more effective, since labourers (in particular) do not trust community leaders (especially, it appears, in Rajasthan) or people from a different social background.

Table 9.4 Strategies to affect views of tradeoffs b etween income and school

Cause Audience Current View

Useful quotes How this view could be changed

Source/channel of information

Lack of exposure to skilled job market

Child labourers in each state.

School leads to low/no income benefits Work leads to higher income benefits. Segmentation particularly for tribal and other marginalised groups.

“I want to learn good work, to become a beautician”

“those who go to school they eat and those who do not go they also eat’ so why then send them to school?”

“Children have to learn every work- social, agricultural work, house work. If [he doesn’t work and] nothing happens in education then he would be good neither for labour nor for job/service”

“I am able to earn Rs2000 working as an ayah. They can earn better if they get educated.”

Farmers, doctors, teachers, beauticians, government officials (collectors, police officers) speaking about their background and role of information Role models from same social background speaking on ability to earn from school Make school more focused on linking with employment through connections with skilled employers and vocational training Emphasise that early child labour locks children into labouring jobs, while education opens opportunities

Mass media (TV (children watch from 8-10), films, posters) Individual communication – door-to-door Focused community-based interventions Parents Meetings/plays/songs NGO engagement Government engagement NOT community leaders but perhaps tribal leaders (esp Raj)

Marginalisation and history

Child labourers Child labourers’ parents

Children are unlikely to get skilled jobs.

“Is there any guarantee that they (children) will get employment even if

Farmers, doctors, teachers, beauticians, government officials (collectors, police officers) speaking about

See above


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Segmentation particularly for tribal and other marginalised groups.

they are educated?”

“To get the job is not so easy. Those who are educated till 10th standard are not making any progress”

their background and role of information Emphasise changes in job markets Role models from same background

Lack of exposure to current job market

Child labourers’ parents Child labourers

Education is not required for jobs that children are likely to get

“people are called blind without education…at present agriculture is also done scientifically so education is essential.”

“it is harmful not to go to school because you need English language to be able to use computers that you need today”

Emphasise that literacy and numeracy needed for agriculture and other jobs Emphasise changes in job markets Role models from same background Make school more focused on linking with employment through connections with skilled employers and vocational training or computers

See above

Lack of exposure to successful women

Parents Children

Girl children will not secure skilled jobs

“I want to learn good work, to become a beautician”

“I want to be a nurse, or a teacher”

“Women need to learn how to do house work to find a good husband”

Female doctors, ANMs, AWWs, NGO workers, teachers, beauticians, government officials speaking about their background Make school more focused on linking with employment through connections with skilled employers and vocational training

See above

Defeatism around job market

Parents Children

Children only need to attend school up to 7th class

“if one is educated then one can get a job, [but] one gets jobs only after lots of study – what job would one get by studying up to 5-8-10? If one studies up to 12-14 then one may get a job.”

“the benefit is when one saves money. If one earns 25 and spent 50 then what is the benefit?”

Emphasise additional benefits of higher schooling in terms of better jobs Emphasise long term Requires better access to higher schooling May require subsidies and scholarships

See above

Inherited roles and norms

Parents Children

Children should continue the work that their parents do (e.g. girl children doing pollination because their mothers so)

Fathers: “Our lives have passed doing labour. What will happen to them? They would also do lab the whole life. Life would remain like this only”.

Discussions with parents to clarify income benefits of changing norms. Encourage parents to encourage children to strike different directions

See above


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Gujarat In Gujarat, among Bhagiyas, economic reasons have come out as the most important drivers of child labour. Specifically, parents engage children in paid work to repay debts. In communities like the Koli, Jogi, Rabari, Naiks, moreover, the attitude is that children should earn and contribute to the family income. Communication strategies should focus on these groups specifically, providing guidance and information on issues related to a) debt management, b) job opportunities and vocational training, c) champion cases of caste integration. Also see section 9.5.1.

Rajasthan Many community members’ strong distrust of community leaders highlights the need to adopt other types of local actors (including NGOs, tribal advocates, and local ‘champions’) to facilitate the strategies highlighted in the table above. Respondents revealed that they mostly trusted people from their same social background, while their trust for television was relatively low showing that mass media interventions may not be ideal in tribal areas.

9.3.1.2 Developmental benefits Decision-makers also appear unsure whether school or work confers greater developmental benefits and therefore favour a mix. Generally, households are reasonably persuaded of the value of school in terms of developmental benefits, but they also see work as having development benefits. While this may have elements of truth, it should be clear that work does not have the same developmental benefits as education, when properly delivered. Moreover, the benefits of basic childcare and leisure could be emphasised further, as in Table 9.5.

A universal factor that discourages children from attending school and schooling in all the districts, as shown in Table 5.12, is abuse and beatings by the teacher. Some children in all the districts, irrespective of whether they were current child labourers or child non-labourers, mentioned some level of teacher abuse as a major impediment to attending school. This issue could be addressed through some campaigns around the negative effects of teacher abuse on children’s normal development and desire to attend schooling.

Table 9.5 Strategies to affect views around develop mental benefits

Cause Audience Current View Useful quotes How this v iew could be changed


Lack of awareness of harm of work

Child labourers’ parents Child labourers (current and potential)

Work has strong developmental benefits

“Whether they work at home or work away from home, whether they are girls or boys there are no dangers that can be foreseen”

“Child labour is harmful for government, for parents and for the future of the children. It is suicidal for the future of the children”

Emphasise the harm caused by work Emphasise the role of school and play in child development

Ex-child labourers who have suffered harm Parents Teachers (for school-going children) Doctors – external experts on a repeated basis NGO workers Mass media

Lack of awareness of school

Child labourers’ parents Child labourers

School has limited developmental benefits

“Work is for today, school is for tomorrow”

“education is needed one can be independent and no one can take

Emphasise the developmental benefits of school Additional pastoral staff at school School curriculum that encompasses

Village education committees Parents External experts on a repeated basis NGO workers Mass media


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advantage.”

“They can deal with the Officers better than us. We are not able to question the officers. We just have to listen to them and follow”.

vocational training

Lack of awareness of societal demands

Parents Children can negotiate society without schooling

“if we receive a document or a paper or a letter from the government or other person we are compelled to depend on someone else to read it out for us; they don't need to depend on anyone for these trivialities.”

“children will become self-reliant when they are grown up…they will get respect from society if they are educated…society looks down at the illiterates, where as the treatment an educated receives in the society is qualitatively different.”

“Fortune does not favour illiterate people, the illiterate person has to be dependent on others”297

Emphasise specific examples already given – reading bus signs, avoiding fraud, acquiring information – and examples of how this is useful (travel, earnings, employment opportunities)

Mass media Role models Meetings/plays/songs

Lack of awareness on childcare

Parents Children do not need leisure time or child care

“If they fail school, better not have them idle – best to send them to work”

AWW worker mistrusted: “she is different, she earns money”

Emphasis on benefits of childcare Training on childcare

AWW ANM Doctor NGO workers Mass media

Gujarat Most of the communities interviewed considered child work including paid wage as fine. In particular child work from around 8-10 years old onwards is considered part of a daily routine. The only exception to this that emerged was a section within the Patel community. Generally work is perceived as something that keeps the children healthy and teaches them the importance of money. Communication strategies in Bhuwad and Samatra should therefore focus on the comparative advantages of education in terms of skills acquired (numeracy especially) and health/developmental benefits.

297 Refer to paragraph 5.3.1.2 for further details


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9.3.1.3 Social benefits Higher work than school allocations were often justified because of the higher perceived social benefits of girls working (particularly on home work) than of attending school. A communication intervention could emphasise changes in society that make this perception less accurate today, as in Table 9.6.

Table 9.6 Strategies to affect views around social benefits




Traditional views on marriage

Parents Girls should work to become attractive for marriage

“if girls don’t learn work now, we will be blamed by her in laws” “when they work girls become “sanskari” (cultured) and are more attractive to prospective husbands.”

Emphasise the benefits of educated wives Provide examples of educated girls who marry well

Educated women from same communities who have married well Professional women NGO workers Mass media

Expense of marriage

Parents Community leaders

Spending on marriage dowries is important (Rajasthan particularly)

“In the past, the expenses were high – samaj has lowered them. Now they make 2 things – 30 tola chandi (one tola is 10 grms, silver) and 1 kata gold. They feed the barat. If we follow the rules of the samaj we can do it in Rs 30,000 – 35,000, otherwise it can be upto 1.5 lakh”

Working with community leaders to try to reduce costs of marriage – reference positive example from Samaj Sangathan in Rajasthan Highlight advantages and social acceptability of low cost of marriage

Local trusted authority Tribal leaders Community leaders NGO workers Mass media

Norms supporting work

Children (source districts)

Migrating and working together is fun

Fathers: “Our lives have passed doing labour. What will happen to them? They would also do lab the whole life. Life would remain like this only”.

Working with children to create negative norms around work, emphasising disadvantages and dangers

Parents NGO workers Children


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Low valuation of girls’ education

Parents Girls are valued more when they have work experience rather than schooling

“if girls don’t learn work now, we will be blamed by her in laws”

Emphasise that girls’ value also comes from education Stories of what is good in a wife Emphasize that domestic duties and education are not in contrast, providing role models for this

Testimonies from male champions in communities Testimonies from wives Mass media

Tribal and marginalised groups less attractive in labour market

Employers Tribal and marginalised people are less effective workers, even with education

“if we study for long enough and enter higher studies everyone can get a job”

Work with employers to encourage them to employ marginalised groups Emphasise their application and aptitude and the effect on child labour

Testimonies from labourers Government NGOs

Tamil Nadu Though access to schooling appeared to be the biggest issue in Salem and Dharmapuri, this issue also has a gender dimension. Interviews revealed that parents prefer boys to be educated if the resources are very limited, because parents don’t like to send their girl children to far off places. Some FGD participants in Salem reported that girl children from the Ahir community were not sent to school because of the system of co-education (boys and girls learning together). Child marriage, which is reported to be prevalent in the Ahir community was also mentioned as a reason for the low educational attainment of girls. Communication strategies should target these issues specifically. Children in focus groups valued safe hostels, partly because these hostels to some extent meet children’s demand for excitement and travel (currently met by travelling for work) and advocacy to promote further girl hostels in the area could be considered (providing they meet child protection standards). As an alternative that is more acceptable to parents and from a child protection point of view, smaller local schools could be promoted.

Rajasthan In the perception of parents and elders from both Kharbar and Khadakaya, the necessity of work for girls is related to marriage and the need to learn adequate skills to maintain a household. Moreover, it seemed a common practice to send young girls as young as 12 to substitute their mothers in NREGS work. The primary reason for this lies in the high labour requirement from mothers for daily survival, an issue which may not be easily tackled through communication strategies. The high costs of marriages and dowries have also acted as strong social constraints on education – positive communication experiences such as that of the Samaj Sangatan who reduced the cost of marriage could be emulated around tribal areas, using local champions and leaders. Also see 9.5.1.

Maharashtra The gender issue in Maharashtra appeared to be particularly prevalent, with girls preferred for pollination work because of their nimble fingers, social norms favouring male education over female and the need to acquire working skills for marriage purposes. Communication


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strategies have an important role to play in highlighting the importance and advantages of female education.

9.3.1.4 Immediate well-being Children generally consider both work and school to have benefits in terms of their immediate well-being. However, the well-being advantages of school over work could be improved and further emphasised, using the following strategies:

Table 9.7 Strategies to affect views of well-being benefits




Lack of opportunities in village

Children Travelling for work is more exciting than staying at home (source areas, especially Rajasthan)

“you can earn money, buy stuff, go around and have fun with friends.”

Emphasise entertainment in the village Emphasise that travel will be possible to more interesting places at a later age – using example of bus travel Emphasise tedium and dangers of work with examples Make school more exciting for children with communal activities (decoration, games, etc.)

Community-based intervention Child-to-child communication Parents School-based intervention (PTA, teachers, VEC) Additional training of teachers

Parents lack supervision time


Children can decide if they want to work

“We had sent our children to schools 3-4 times but they came back. The make excuses of drinking water, going to toilet etc., and do not pay attention in their studies. If you can educate our children, we are ready to send them, we do not refuse to it, but our children do not want to study” “children do not go on our command. If we tell them and they do not wish to go then they would not go…if children have desire to go then only she would go, parents force does not work.”

Ensure parents require children to attend school and emphasise its importance, interest and excitement Requires improving schools

Parents NGO workers Mass media Teachers

For further state and district specific information see 9.5.1.


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9.3.1.5 Penalties Currently, as noted above, penalties for child work and non-attendance are hardly implemented. Moreover, as many secondary audience members point out, it is unlikely that they would stem the flow of migration significantly if they were. It is not clear from the data what communication strategies would have an effect to alter people’s perceptions of these penalties in their current form, but if implemented a publicity strategy might have a successful impact.

Table 9.8 Strategies to affect views of penalties




Lack of fear of penalty

Parents Penalties are not implemented and not worth considering

“Younger than 15 years are taken by Mets only and if there is checking at the border then they take on foot stealthily.” "Government has tried to stop movement of children by putting up check-posts at borders. I was also posted on the border for few days this year. There was no movement of children. They find-out other ways. It was waste of money."

Publicise examples of penalties, including their magnitude Encourage government officials not only to implement but also to advertise

Mass media Government Police forces, through local officers

Lack of implementation of penalty

Government officials

Penalties are not worth implementing

“This is like water. Where there is demand, labour (children or adults) will move there. For people, this is like investment and training for them. Checkposts can stop a few people, but only temporarily”

Put in place alternatives to child labour Emphasise need to cooperate with other agencies at source and destination

Government NGOs Parents (ex-labourers)

Lack of fear of penalty

Farmers Seed companies

Penalties will not be imposed

“I am illiterate; I don’t know about labour law. No government officer visits our farm.”

Advocacy to cotton purchasers to enforce ban in supply chain Advocacy to government to work more closely with farmers and impose penalties

Governments Seed companies Cotton purchasers

9.3.2 Strategies to influence constraints faced by households

A second approach of persuasive strategies will be aimed at directly changing the tradeoffs faced by households themselves. This could be done by attempting to influence a range of factors that affect tradeoffs among education, work and leisure. These strategies can have a much broader remit than those above to include strategies around improving livelihoods (reducing the need for children to work) and the quality of education (making school payoffs higher). They also address specific aspects of the reasons why children leave school, particularly failure.


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9.3.2.1 Income benefits Currently, the majority of households in study areas contain working children because they are unable to meet their subsistence needs or because they need children’s labour at home or in their farms. Section 9.2 detailed some ideas on how these demands for work over school could be changed through programmatic policy. Communications strategies can also play a role here because there are various behavioural factors that sustain high returns to children working or that decrease adults’ incomes. These suggestions involve working with a broader range of stakeholders than just the decision-makers considered above, since this section is no longer concerned specifically with changing the perceptions of the decision-makers but with the context in which they make decisions.

Table 9.9 Strategies to affect households’ income c onstraints


Useful quotes How this view can be changed


Employers Children are better at work than adults and can be paid less

Emphasise that adults can do cottonseed work as well if not better than children Require payment of minimum wage to adults Need to work with companies to make this viable – communications higher up the cotton value chain Work with cotton purchasers and public to discourage buying child labour cotton Work with specific communities at risk (e.g. Bhagiyas)

Contractor testimonies Seed companies requiring adults Cotton consumers to companies

Economic imperatives

Parents Children must work to earn money

“Employing only adults our cost of production will double. Farmers are finding it very difficult now. Wages have almost double during last two years.” "Elders are not fit for this work. They cannot do the cross-pollination work as properly as children. The work needs concentration. Children listen to whatever we say and thus the work can be got done. Not only that, they can't do as quickly as the children do, one child can do the work of two adults.” “they work fast and they can be threatened. “ "children work better, fast and are reliable. They don’t mind to work long hours" “plants are right size for them”

Shift focus to sustainable strategies of child labour (during holidays, weekends, after school)

Teachers, community leaders, local role models

Employers Children do not face harm working

“Why should children not work? Nothing bad happens to them” “Whether they work at home or work away from home, whether they are girls or boys there are no dangers that can be foreseen”

Explain clearly to employers what the harm of children working is Highlight both direct harm and harm from missing school Emphasize the positive role they can play

Community leaders Teachers in their village (though problems of shared networks) Mass media

Unawareness of harm

Society Children do not face harm working

“Whether they work at home or work away from home, whether they are girls or boys there are no dangers that can be foreseen”

Emphasise to the general public the harm caused by child labour in order to maintain pressure on the government to

Mass media Famous champions


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implement schemes and laws to reduce it

Credit markets

Parents It is better to keep own children working than hire in labour

“Our children cost us no money”

Encourage parents to see schooling as a priority for all children Support villages in developing better credit markets and hiring in adult labour

Teachers NGOs (SHGs)

Alcoholism (Tamil Nadu)

Fathers and mothers (some times)

Spending money on alcohol is reasonable in desperation

Awareness of evils among women Promoting healthy behaviour

Fan clubs and film stars

Unemployment

Parents Lack of responsibility Suitable work not available

“Actually we (the adults) don’t have any work, where can we get employment for our children too?”

Skill development, SHG Development

NGOs and other social organisations

Large family Parents Large no of children, cultural beliefs

Social security Family planning

Different stakeholders

Early marriages

Parents/ society

Fear of social insecurity/social stigma

"for fear of neighbours parents marry them early"

Awareness of consequences Secondary education for girls

Opinion leaders at all levels

Poverty (Gujarat)

Sarpanch Panchayat Member Parents Jati Panchayat Influential Leaders

(i) Due to poverty children need to work (ii) Low quality education: Better children work-Protection (Exploitation) (iii) Gender Discrimination: More work need to be done by girls

“Whatever comes to the village never reaches us” exclaimed the mother of a child worker, “it is all ‘chor niti’ here”

“all the information we have we have from one another”

“only the big people (mota-mota) get all the information”

“those who have information get the benefits, eligible or needy can not get the benefits”

(i) All sorts of information related to employment and income opportunities should be shared with the community (NREGA, Credit Schemes, Scholarships etc) (ii) Increased transparency at all levels(iii) Planning of improvement of livelihood

(i)Youths (Word of mouth) (ii) Ward display board (iii) SHG; Mandals; etc (iv) Community Radio (v) Regular Gram/Ward sabha (vi) Role plays; wall paintings

Poverty, no employment for parents

Parents and Adults

Family trade, fear of adopting new options, Affection on family

“Actually we (the adults) don’t have any work, where can we get employment for our children too?”

Counselling, skill development, self employment opportunities, awareness of welfare schemes

Panchayath leaders, Department and field officers

Debt burden Parents and adults

Debt is an insurmountable burden

“we are cursed by debt, there is no way out”

Skill development to improve sound financial management of family resources

Panchayath leaders, NGOs

Parents’ Health, Multiple Pregnancies

Parents and Adults

No access to food, ignorance, lack of cleanliness, lack of good

Counselling and awareness on need for diversified diet, importance of cleanliness for health,/sexual care

Health and Nutrition Department and NGOs


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practices and birth control No value for skills, Products that are known to them

Parents and adults

Poor marketing skills, dependence on local traders, lack of trust on new agencies and NGOs

Counselling and awareness

Rural Development and Panchayathiraj

Ignorance, broken families, poor education

Parents, adults and teachers

Necessity, no implementation of social laws

“I am illiterate, why should they not be”

Government communication interventions from concerned departments

NGOs, Education Department, Health Department and Law & Order Department

No initial capital, No awareness of welfare schemes

Parents, adults and teachers

Lack of education, Perpetuation of helplessness

“How do we know about government schemes – we are illiterates you know!”

Loans from Banks, Self Help groups, DRDA. Making sure opportunities are aware to all.

DRDA, Women Groups and Rural Development

9.3.2.2 Improving the quality of education This section considers what other members of the community could do to improve the quality of education:

Table 9.10 Strategies to improve the quality of edu cation

Cause Audience Current View Useful quotes How this v iew can be changed


Lack of teacher competence/ interest

Teachers Not committed Lack capacity ‘Task too low’

“What will they learn if teacher is not there?” “This year 95 % of the children failed in 8th. The teachers sit in the office”. “if they are taught well” more children will come. We asked about what that means, they said “it means all the children understand what is being said”.

Additional training Emphasize essential role of teachers as community leaders, boosting confidence

Education Department Mass Media

Parents No earning from education Education costly

“Is there any guarantee that they (children) will get employment even if they are educated?”

Monetary incentive Free education

Govt/Bhamashah Info dissemination Community

Lack of 100 percent enrolment and retention

Children Education not interesting Lack of facilities

Multiple quotes, see section 4.2.2.2

Make curriculum interesting & vocational orientation Update syllabus Teaching also available in local languages

Education Department NGO


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Elected Representative

Indifference Negligence

Motivation Encouragement

Govt & NGO

Education officer

Lack of powers Empowerment Govt

Weak supervision and management

All above Lack of effective supervision, info sharing and resources

Concurrent evaluation and provision for needed resources

Govt/NGO

Parents not engaged in education

Parents Education is not relevant and they should not be attending school

“those who go to school they eat and those who do not go they also eat’ so why then send them to school?”

Go door-to-door to invite parents to PTA meetings Engage parents in the education of their children

Teachers Community leaders (not for parents of child labourers) NGO workers

Teachers not engaged


The role of teachers is not our concern

“Now Teachers are made to go door to door. Teachers are mobilising children. I succeeded in re admitting 5 children” “The Head Master explains about every child’s progress to their parents. He makes teachers work hard. Since he assumed charge school has improved drastically.”

Emphasise the monitoring and constructive role they should be playing with teachers Support teachers by working with them where necessary Ensure that teachers are teaching: check with children and report back to community leaders and VEC Strengthen PTAs

Community level work NGO workers Child-to-community communication

Girls cannot travel alone

Parents Children

Girls cannot travel alone, and so miss school

“it is too dangerous for them”

Community work to arrange for girls travelling together to schools

Community leaders Teachers Parents

Class room atmosphere

PTA Members

“We’d like posters and maps and computers” “We love songs and learning poems”

Audio visual methods of teaching to be used

Administrative Officers (AEO, BDO, DEEO, CEO, NGOs etc )

Environmental situation

VEC Members

Many students insisting on need for computers and computer teachers

Adopt latest teaching techniques (Computers and Laptops)

Head Masters

Lack of social support

Administrative authority

Special incentives to be given to students

Religious leaders

Gujarat In Gujarat, it is useful to note that the importance and necessity of education is universally recognised by most social groups (with exception of certain castes, as explained in section 9.5.1). However, parents take into account children’s interests and this affects schooling outcomes. In most of the communities interviewed, parents asked their children if they want to study: if not they are sent for work. Parents follow the principle that education cannot be forced, but if children are out of school then they must work and not roam around. Why children do not like schooling thus emerges as the most important question to be resolved via a communications strategy.


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Tamil Nadu In Tamil Nadu, access to schooling appeared an important factor, more than the quality of education itself which was perceived to be relatively high (with many children considering teachers as the most credible source of information). Tamil Nadu, and Salem district specifically, also presented some very successful stories of teacher-parent coordination through PTA meetings and active recruitment of children who had dropped out – a practice which could be encouraged in other areas as well. Lack of schools and lack of teachers were among the most common complaints, together with issues around the quality of schooling infrastructure. Moreover, parents were main household decision-makers with children playing no role in the decision whether to go to school or not, suggesting that communication strategies concerned specifically with this decision could largely focus on adults.

Rajasthan In both Kharbar and Khadakaya the quality of education was extremely low and the credibility of teachers inexistent. Children do not enjoy school and this is the major constraining factor for education, given children’s high decisional power in tribal areas. Work, on the other hand, is considered fun and exciting. For these reasons, there is an important need to find ways to provide alternative exciting things to do in children’s source villages, possibly through the setting up of Youth Resource Centres as those promoted by Seva Mandir. A large focus should also be placed on the recruitment and training of teachers, to enhance the ‘fun’ aspects of schooling. Teachers should be trained to be understanding with children who occasionally miss school for work rather than beating them, a common practise that has a large impact on children’s willingness to attend school. Also see 9.5.1.

9.3.2.3 Failure in schools Many children drop out of school because they fail during school. Aside from the role that teachers can play, these children could be engaged more specifically in communications strategies.

Table 9.11 Strategies to prevent children who fail from dropping out of school


Useful quotes How this view can be changed


Children If they fail attending school is worthless

“We want to send our children to school. We try our best to send them to school. If they can’t study, things to not get into their head, then they will drop out.” “What is the use of his studying? He failed 8th several times and then I asked him to stop. I sent him to a hostel also and paid all the expenses through mazdoori [labour]. What else can I do?”

Individual counselling Detailed work Addressing meetings to community around failing children Use success stories from community of failing children who kept going

Teachers Parents Community leaders Role models of failing children who persevered NGO workers Mass media

Children drop out when fail

Parents If children fail they lack the capacity for schooling

“dimag kharab thai jaye” [their minds do not work]. “what will you do studying, chalo Gujarat [go to Gujarat].”

Emphasise that schooling is not only about exams Emphasise importance of

Teachers NGO workers Mass media


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retrying Village leaders

Children who fail need no support Children who fail can leave school

“man nahi lagta [some children don’t like it]…when children fail in school they lose heart.”

Children who fail need extra support in school Teachers should focus on them Consider top-up payment incentives from village fund Consider engaging in more vocational training Additional strictness on school attendance for failing children

NGO workers Government House to house visits

Teachers Focus on high achievers

Various testimonies from teachers

Emphasize need to focus on low performers and gratification this entails Arguments of social justice (bad performers are usually from worse background) Training

Education departments

NGOs

Illiterate Parents

Teachers No hope of getting employment

“Is there any guarantee that they (children) will get employment even if they are educated?”

TPR 1:20 to be maintained

Friends

Tamil Nadu Salem district’s positive experience with active PTA meetings and recruitment of children who had dropped out of school could be emulated in other districts and states. See 9.3.2.2.

9.4 Messages for specific groups

The analysis above has shown that particular individuals, aside from the decision-makers, wield a strong influence over decisions whether to work or attend school, either by influencing the decision-makers directly (such as parents where children decide and vice versa) or by affecting decisions around tradeoffs between school and work significantly (particularly teachers or employers). This section considers how a communications strategy might engage with these individuals to influence decisions or affect preferences for school over work.

9.4.1 Teachers

Teachers are a critical part of decisions to work or attend school. First, teachers’ behaviour seems to play a very significant role in whether children attend school or not, particularly in their treatment of children who are struggling or in any case less inclined to attend school. Second, children and parents trust teachers, often more than they trust other groups. In Tamil Nadu, child labourers put some trust in teachers (and in Salem they trusted teachers more than anyone else aside from parents), while non-labourers usually trusted teachers more than anyone else aside from parents. In Gujarat also, child labourers and non-labourers trusted their teachers, usually as the third most reliable source after God and their parents, and particularly on matters connected to education. In Rajasthan, teachers featured much less.


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Parents in Tamil Nadu and Gujarat also trusted teachers, particularly around education. In Tamil Nadu, parents of labourers and non-labourers said that they trust teachers on education-related issues, and in Gujarat, teachers received some mentions as trustworthy people (although also some criticism).

In Rajasthan , however, teachers were not viewed in the same way, with few mentions as trustworthy people and with one group even arguing that “parents themselves do not go to school. They are afraid that Mastersaab [teacher] would trap them in some rules.”298

There seems to be some scope to engage teachers more actively, building up a ‘sense of pride’ for their role as social leaders within communities. Interviews with teachers sometimes revealed disengagement due to the frustration of their position (low wage, away from home, too many children to deal with, high absence rates, etc), while children and parents often complained about the lack of ‘good’ teaching. Fighting this parent-teacher opposition appears to have been a success story in a few areas. All of this suggests:

• Increasing teachers’ job ‘satisfaction’ and ‘pride’ by enhancing their position and acknowledging its importance.

• Focusing teachers’ attention on poor performers rather than best achievers, linking their sense of personal achievement – and possibly external evaluation – to success in this direction. Monitoring criteria could include retention of children in school, higher grades for people from poor backgrounds, etc. Focus on number of children who dropped out because they have ‘failed’ and on children’s request to “understand what is being said” by the teacher.

• Increasing one on one involvement of teachers and parents (micro-communication). This can be done by:

- Widening the scope of PTAs, involving parents from poor backgrounds, as well as parents of children who are not in school

- Door to door visits by teachers (see success stories reported in previous sections). Note that this is extremely important for marginalized households who feel no incentive to engage with those who deny them voice (exemplified by conversation with researchers where FGD respondents said they trusted them because they had gone to their house and listened to them directly, rather than refer a message indirectly, as community leaders usually do). Importance of personal engagement.

• Communications strategy for teachers highlighting that inflexibility in relation to attendance is counter-productive. Experience from the research areas showed that it is best if children miss a bit of school here and there, rather than letting them drop out entirely so as not to face the shame of going back to school and being scolded, publicly embarrassed and often beaten by teachers. Strategies in this direction should be coordinated by education departments and monitored by local actors (head teachers, PTA presidents, SDMC presidents, etc).

• Communications strategy against violence of teachers in schools, especially given that beating is a huge factor in children drop out. Strategies of this kind could be organized by education departments in coordination with local NGOs. They should be delicately tailored so as not to stigmatize teachers who use corporal punishment with children, or they may obtain counter-productive effects. Focus should be on positive pedagogic techniques.

298 Child non-labourers’ fathers Khadakaya, Rajasthan.


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9.4.2 Employers

Employers and contractors also play a role in making work attractive for children, and they should be made more aware of the effect that this is having, and should be engaged (particularly contractors) to reduce the incidence of child work.

Table 9.12 Strategies to work with employers

Cause Audience Current View How this view can be cha nged Source/channel of information

Seed Company

(i) Denial (ii) Do not consider themselves responsible

(i) Hold them responsible (ii) Optimal rate to farmers (price of seed)

Consumers Government NGO workers Community leaders

Farmers (i) Low cost labour (ii) Small hands are suitable for work (iii) Low rate given by companies

(i) Negotiate suitable rate with companies (ii) Local CBO and leaders and government pressure group


Economic imperatives

Transporter/contractor

(i) Child labour is part of their business (ii) Child labour is part of their livelihood

(i)Emphasise that this is an illegal business (ii) Use communities to put on moral pressure (iii) Present options for an alternative livelihood


Rajasthan Both working children as well as their parents by and large consider the Meth (contractor) as a credible source and someone who teaches skills. However, the same Meth is often described as an exploiter. Communication strategies should focus specifically on the role of such contractors, trying to involve them directly in community advocacy of other nature & possibility of alternative livelihood generation.

9.5 The role of social norms and rights

In some cases, perceived preferences may not entirely determine decisions around whether children go to work or to school, and that historical and transient norms, as well as rights, may influence this decision. This section considers how those social norms may be affected by a communications strategy.


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9.5.1 Norms

Table 9.13 Strategies to affect social norms


Society Lower castes Encouraging inter caste marriages Removing caste barriers to job acquisition Civic education in schooling

Govt/opinion leaders Teachers

Caste system

Parents Lower castes should not be attending school

Emphasise universality of education Emphasise positive experiences of other lower caste individuals Highlight role of reservation policy

Mass media Government communication

Group-based enjoyment

Children Work is fun in a group Encourage children to see benefits of schools Targeting child leaders to emphasise benefits of schools and harm of work

Children Parents NGO workers Child-to-child communication Mass media

Gujarat In Gujarat, the problem of social norms related to the caste system is particularly prevalent. A crucial issue is the relationship between governance and empowerment of people and communities. Powerlessness is expressed in terms of lack of awareness, lack of adequate means, and lack of access. In particular, serious concerns relate to protection of child rights of communities such as the Bhagiyas299 [migrants], Rabaris and local Dataniya in Bhuwad and Maldhari Muslims in Samatra300. Children of these communities are totally left out of the pre-school and schooling system, highlighting a strong linkage between social distance and education deprivation in these communities. Given this, a communications strategy in these areas needs to consider explicitly the social differences in these villages, and the political/social/economic hierarchy that perpetuates child labour (since the wealthy have a strong interest in maintaining their position). While strategies may not be able to address these issues directly, it will be extremely important to pay special attention if working through existing village structures, since the panchayats are run by specific castes and interest groups.

Rajasthan Research showed that almost half the children in Kharbar and Khadakaya if not more migrate to Gujarat for work by taking their own decision and without informing parents. This has been reported by parents as well as working children. In Khadakaya, moreover, several school-going children reported earning during holidays and during peak seasons in order to 299 Bhagiyas live on people’s farms and their terms of agreement force then to use child labour. The have substantial physical and social distance for mainstream. 300 Communities like Dataniya and Muslims live on the periphery of the village and totally cut off from the main village. They have no relation of any kind with any of the other communities of the village. Moreover, the primary school is located at quite a distance so it is difficult for small children to commute. The communities seem to have internalised such social discrimination and there are hardly any concerted effort on part of any one to bridge the social gap so as to promote education within these communities.


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pay for schooling. This attitude shows the willingness of children to study if structural and economic constraints are faced - and should be encouraged rather than stigmatised via communications strategies. “Pull factors” in schooling should be emphasized, including the additional freedom that higher education can help to achieve. Also see paragraph 9.5.2.

9.5.2 Rights

Currently, rights are not seen as important in whether children attend school or not. This is partially because of the low awareness of rights in relation to education and child labour. Many FGD respondents didn’t even understand the concept of what ‘rights’ were. However, it is possible that with further engagement, parents could be convinced of the importance of basic rights in guaranteeing the full development of their children.

Table 9.14 Strategies to affect perception of right s


Absence of a child-centric view

Parents Only some children in the household need education

Emphasise that education is a right for all children, not only some Emphasise government laws and constitution Use positive examples from resonant political and media figures

Mass media Community based work NGOs Child-to-community communication

No knowledge of rights

Children Do not feel any obligation or right to go to school

Explain meaning and consequence of ‘rights’ Emphasise that education is a right for all children Emphasise government laws and constitution Use positive examples from resonant political and media figures

Mass media Community based work NGOs Child-to-child communication

Rajasthan In both Kharbar and Khadakaya, the concept of child rights, as out lined in the CRC, was totally alien for the majority of the households. Research showed that the local concept of child rights lies in the capacity to survive in the face of harsh events. The child has to be prepared for that so the moment a child acquires sufficient physical strength, it is sent out to work (often grazing with a herd of goats). This freedom guaranteed to the child at an early age is at the basis of the high value given to children’s decision-making in tribal communities. In light of this, communication strategies in tribal areas will not be successful unless they respect the different mindsets and values of local populations. Moreover, it will be important to target children directly.

Maharashtra Respondents across the two districts generally showed a low degree of awareness of the anti-child labour law, or the NCLP. They however, showed greater awareness of other programmes to encourage schooling including the Mid Day Meals scheme and the ICDS. There appears to be therefore an important space for mass media to increase awareness around such issues.


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9.6 Strengthening networks

Communications strategies will need to take place through groups and networks available at the ground level. This section considers some strategies to improve these groups.

Table 9.15 Networks by audience

Level Audience Weaknesses and Gaps of Networks Strat egy Needed

School Teachers, unions, association

Pressure of maintaining records, insufficient taking responsibility

Labour unions Dysfunctional Unions, inexistent unionization of children

National

Govt officials (TD department, Labour, Social justice, CWC; Police, Education department, ICDS)

(I)Improper reach to the audience (physical and social) (ii)Lack of interest and mindsets on the issue (iii)Weak intersectional coordination/ implementation/planning/monitoring

State Commissions (human rights; child rights; women commission)

Operate at state level only Headed by political nominees

State

Meths Unions, Cooperative societies

Earning money at the cost of children’s life

NGO/CSR Civil society not coming forward on the issue, insufficient coordination

District, Block, Zonal task forces Lack of coordination and timely action

PRI (SDMC, PTA, Caste Panchayat)

Role and responsibilities not clear

District

Adivasi Sangathans Unorganised adivasi sangathans

SHGs/CBO Weak capacity and no feeling of responsibility in issue of child labour

Community

Community (families, relatives, neighbours)

Caste discrimination, marginalization of poor households

Institution capacity building and advocacy from bottom (I) Resources- (Funds, functionaries and functions) (II) Motivation and mind set (III) Effective implementation and enforcement (IV) Fixing on accountability (V) Information generation/exchange between networks

9.7 Types of strategies

This section uses the inputs above to suggest an overarching communication strategy to be implemented in each district. This strategy could be derived from the formative research study. A proposed overall strategy would hinge on the adherence to behaviour focussed programming. The goal of the overarching strategy could be to provide a set of integrated communication inputs across various levels of intervention (district, school, community and household) covering a three year time frame. The overarching communication strategy could accord interpersonal and community level efforts equal if not more importance than mass media interventions. The overarching strategy could recognise that coordinated, planned efforts will result in powerful and sustainable changes.

The three proposed overarching strategies are: (1) mass media, (2) community level mobilization and (3) household and community level communication inputs. Each of these


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overarching strategies would have detailed operational guidelines in a communication strategy document. Each of the broad strategies would be considerably strengthened if implemented synergistically and simultaneously.

The communication strategy may at the district level involve interventions at the following levels: mass media at district level, as well focused interventions on high risk and vulnerable groups, on schools and the education system and households/families. These interventions could be linked together by a common strategic plan that includes a focus on a set of priority behaviours and attitudes identified from the data. In short, there will be 4 main strategies at the district level.

9.7.1 Mass Media at District Level

A mass media campaign could raise awareness of the common misconception that “children are best suited for cottonseed work”. The campaign will highlight the fact that adults can do this work as well as children. The campaign will also focus on child rights and child labour laws. The campaign should have three major themes – (1) changing perceptions of child labour in key stakeholders including parents; (2) providing options to child labour in the context of child rights and child labour laws including which government schemes to access for assistance and (3) a gender focussed campaign that illustrates the dual burden of wage and domestic labour for girl child labourers (Figure 9.6).

The feeling here is that a campaign aimed at encouraging positive behaviours would be much more useful than one discouraging negative ones. There is a need to ‘preach’ something actionable and understandable, rather than impose notions which would be badly received and disregarded (stigmatizing child labourers as a side effect).

A draft campaign strategy could include three campaigns that are run every year for four months each at the same time for 3 years. The need to partition campaigns into concrete segments is to synergize communication inputs at all levels for a concentrated period of four months. Otherwise, there is little coordination between mass media campaigns and activities being conducted at the community and community levels.

Strategy 1 Mass Media Campaign

Strategy 3 Working with schools

and the education system

Strategy 2 High Risk & Vulnerable

Groups

Strategy 4 Child development

through child to child approaches


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Figure 9.6 Campaign Strategy

District level mass media would include cinema halls, cable TV, hoardings, wall paintings, events on bazaar days, folk media etc. It would also include electronic and print media.

9.7.2 Interventions for High Risk & Vulnerable Grou ps

The data indicate that the patterns and contexts of child labour vary considerably from district to district. The issue of child labour is complex and will require multiple interventions that are synergized. One of the key issues at the district level is to identify villages and groups where the practice of child labour is prevalent. In the research areas, for instance, child labour was very prevalent, and particularly so among specific communities (such as the Bhagiyas in Gujarat).

On-going community based interventions are necessary in these “pockets” where child labour exists. It is proposed that NGOs working at the grassroots could implement these community based interventions. These NGOs can plan their activities to align with the main campaign themes in addition to addressing specific, local, need based issues.

Other ideas in these high-risk communities could include (i) child rights should be mainstreamed in village institutions (ii) Community level organisations should take up child rights issues (iii) Large networks should be formed at various levels.

In these communities, advocacy could also flow upwards towards the state, making the following arguments, as examples: (i) School infrastructure needs to be developed (ii) Free schooling up till 10th standard should be provided (iii) Adequate and trained staff should be available in schools (iv) Accountability of teachers needs to be ensured through monitoring and supervision (v) Support to the needy should be provided (like the Trust set up by the Patels in Samatra village) (vi) School environment should be child friendly (vii) Meaning of free and compulsory education needs to be defined (viii) Timings of school should be appropriate (ix) First generation learners need counselling and additional academic support, that should be arranged (x) Farmers who employ child labourers should be strictly dealt with (xi) Effective pre-school education should be ensured (xii) Effective delivery of programmes should also be ensured(NREGA payments are delayed defeating the purpose of employment; wage rate must be 100; NREGA is still not considered as a right) (xiii) Migrant labour must be identified and their children factored in local schools – they should also be provided BPL benefits at the place of destination (ix) Status of Bhagiya should be clarified (x)

Mass Media Campaign Themes

Information asymmetries

Practical constraints

Norms & rights


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Social discrimination needs to be effectively dealt with through awareness and strict implementation of laws (xi) Minimum wage and labour standards need to be enforced.

An example of the communications approaches in these high risk areas is below:

Table 9.16 Example communication techniques in high risk area (Kachchh)

Issue Communicator Audience/Receiver Content Proces s Channel Feedback Review

Who is a child

NGO/Govt Parents in villages Who has not completed 18 years

Information dissemination-one way

Multiple: Teachers/Students NGO Workers AWW

Survey

NREGA as right

NGO/Govt Rural labour Demand when need employment

Info dissemination

Grp meetings/ward meetings

Applications received

Wage rate Govt/NGO/Union Labourers Wage rate Info at work sites

Complaints

Who is Bhagiya

Govt/NGO/Union Bhagiya and employers

Bhagiya is a labourer- wage to receive individually

Gp meetings with Bhagiya and employers; participatory

Lab deptt/ Change agents

Regular cash income

VEC VEC Parents Aspects of parental responsibility

Gp meetings Formation of parent assn

Mohalla/Phalan meetings

Attendance; parent visit to schools

Critical reflection

NGO/Govt Rural labour Rights; Entitlements; Procedures; Reasons of denials

Participatory adult education techniques; Interface

Residential education camps

Peoples action plan

Handling dissonance between primary and secondary audience

NGO/UNICEF People’s rep/ NGOs/ Researchers/Govt

Identified aspects of dissonance; differences in perceptions

Debate and discussion;

Workshops Tours

Revised Action plan

9.7.3 Working with schools and the education system

The data provides a clear picture on the role the school and education system in the context of child labour. Specifically, the role of the teacher has emerged as a crucial factor. Teachers need to be trained in motivating children to stay in school, specifically those that may not be performing well academically. The data indicate that teachers discriminate towards sub-groups of children. This issue needs to be worked on at the level of the education system.

The communication strategy will list the criteria for identification of “high risk” villages. “Mentor” teachers could be assigned to schools in high risk villages.

9.7.4 Child development through child to child & ch ild-to-community approaches

A child-to-community approach is proposed for the creation of a protective environment for children. The development of “children’s councils” that organize would work towards ensuring every child is in school could be a possible strategy. However child-to-community approaches require sustained inputs and facilitation. This intervention will work if it is as


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planned as a “child development” intervention and is implemented through grassroots NGOs in the select villages where child labour is prevalent.

9.8 Short term & Long term Communication Strategy at the District Level

The communication strategy document could include a short term (one–year) strategy and a longer three year strategy. The short term strategy would facilitate the implementation of immediate interventions. The district communication strategy is envisaged to provide broad strategic guidelines and focus for the design and implementation of communication interventions. The strategy could then be used and adapted by each district to meet its specific needs and requirements. For example, in some districts there may be a need to focus specifically on cotton seed labour, in others the focal issue may be working at the community level with defined stakeholders.

The communication strategy document would provide detailed guidelines for implementation. These guidelines can then be used and adapted by each district based its situational analysis and context. The strategy document will also provide details on the institutional mechanisms and partnerships required to implement these guidelines. Each district will prepare its own action plan using the guidelines outlined in the communication strategy document.


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Annex A Methodological annex

A.1 Sample districts

The geographical focus of the study was 4 states (5 districts): Rajasthan (Udaipur), Gujarat (Kachchh), Tamil Nadu (Dharmapuri and Salem), and Maharashtra (Jalna). In addition, 1 district was used for the ‘pilot’ study: Banaskantha in Gujarat. The purpose of the pilot was to refine tools, test logistics and methodology, and to develop a clearer understanding of feasibility of research (availability of target audience; potential challenges in field, etc.) The pilot was conducted between Aug 10-21, 2009 in Banaskantha District of Gujarat.301

The research was initially to have been conducted in Maharashtra (2 districts); Gujarat (1 district); Karnataka (1 district); and Rajasthan (1 district). Changes to UNICEF funding allocations meant that the research in Karnataka was switched to Tamil Nadu. Results of the recce visits in Maharashtra suggested that child labour in cotton fields was not common in the proposed pilot district, Yavatmal, and key stakeholders in the research (including local government officials, NGO workers and researchers) did not feel that conducting research in child labour was useful. The pilot district was therefore switched to Gujarat, where many children labour in the cotton sector. The final selection for the research was therefore Maharashtra (1 district); Gujarat (2 districts); Tamil Nadu (1 district); and Rajasthan (1 district).

The districts for the KAP research were selected on the basis that UNICEF would be carrying out its strategic communication intervention in these districts. UNICEF selected the districts for the intervention on the basis of a large proportion of the population being children relative to other districts, and on the basis of advice from UNICEF state staff on prevalence of child labour. These districts were:

• Jalna (Maharashtra) – destination district (i.e. a district to which children migrate to work in cotton fields)

• Banaskantha (Gujarat) – destination district

• Kutch (Gujarat) – destination district

• Udaipur (Rajasthan) – source district (i.e. a district from which children migrate to work in cotton fields)

• Dharmapuri and Salem (Tamil Nadu) – source and destination district respectively

The OPM research coordinator conducted recce visits to 5 of these districts (and also to Yavatmal in Maharashtra). These were:

• Jalna (Maharashtra): 1st – 2nd July, accompanied by Maharashtra lead researcher302

• Banaskantha (Gujarat): 3rd – 4th August

• Udaipur (Rajasthan): 7th -8th July, accompanied by the lead researcher in Rajasthan and Anu Puri (UNICEF) and Girija Devi (Programme Communication Officer, UNICEF Rajasthan Field Office)

• Kutch (Gujarat), 23rd and 24th August, accompanied by the lead researcher in Gujarat 301 The Pilot Report is in the Appendix. 302 This researcher was later replaced by another researcher in the same organisation due to project delays


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• Dharmapuri (Tamil Nadu): 14th – 16th July, accompanied by the lead researcher in Tamil Nadu and Anu Puri (UNICEF)

The recce visits indicated that child labour in commercial farms was not a significant issue in Jalna district. This information was received from key stakeholders from the government, NGO, and research sectors, as well as from farmers. There are very small numbers of child migrants working on cotton for very short periods, but this is not common, and there are many more children working in other hazardous occupations and children working on their own family farms. After discussion with UNICEF, research continued in Jalna on the basis that there was child labour in the district.

In each district, villages were selected by lead researchers to present different intensities of child labour, and different types of child labour. Tables in Section A.4 sets out the justification for the selection of each village.

A.2 Timing

The research timing changed significantly from that which was initially proposed. These had implications for the availability of research participants in most of the states.

First, the states did not start field work until mid-September, even though it was scheduled to start much earlier in the year as per the contract. Due to various reasons, both contractual and logistical, the field work could not start as scheduled (researchers availability and timing of cotton season such that the research should coincide with availability of optimum number of research participants, were key factors to consider for commencement of the field research). Field work continued in Rajasthan, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu into mid-Oct. However, it did not even start in Maharashtra until early October.

Second, the cotton season in the 3 states had to be taken into account prior to starting the research -- thus, it made more sense to do the research in Sept-Oct rather than anytime earlier. In the case of Tamil Nadu, anytime between August 20th to September 30th was a suitable time for conducting field work in both destination and source district locations. Children, parents, farmers are relatively free to participate in focus group discussions during this time. However, if researchers want to capture the children activity on the farms then the ideal time for field work in both villages is actually mid October to mid December when there is full activity going on and active participation of children on farm activities is visible. Fortunately, despite their being fewer primary audience participants (particularly children) in the source district, the state researcher did not have too hard a time finding the research participants at the village level; what was more challenging was the district level participants, who were either not physically available or hesitant to be part of the study, or they refused to acknowledge the extent of the child labour problem and hence did not offer much time for the in-depth interviews.303

In the case of Rajasthan, the fieldwork could not be done at one stretch. In Udaipur, most children who were employed in cotton farms would be in Gujarat working from mid-Sept to mid-Oct and would only return sometime middle of the October. Therefore, for FGDs related to child labour, these could be held only in October-November. The work started in September, and it took a while to find a critical mass of child labourers for the FGDs since most of them had already left to work in Gujarat.

303 This is discussed further in the section on “Limitations” further below


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The field work in Gujarat was delayed largely due to postponement of the recce visit. However, though there was a little delay in starting the field work on time, the major reason for completion delays was due to lack of availability of one of the key researchers for the total duration of the field work – he had other commitments and was only available for specific days. In order to accommodate his time, there was some delay in completing all the FGDs in Gujarat. In addition, it took a little time to find appropriate villages -- Bhuj is not a major cotton growing area but there are pockets of cotton growing, where the demand for labour is met both internally and externally (latter when there is not enough local farm labour, which is often the case. Two villages with substantial cotton growing areas were identified – here too, the nature of the child work is different from other states in that child workers belong primarily to migrant families from specific parts of Gujarat who come in search of annual farm labour work – they live and work on the farms all year round, not just for cotton but for other field crops too and are classic “sharecroppers”.

In the case of Maharashtra, the big delay was largely due to an unexpected but necessary change in the selection of the pilot district from Maharashtra to Gujarat304. This involved a repeat recce visit, further delayed by hiring of a new researcher from TISS because the earlier one took up a position at TISS as Registrar and could not find time to participate in this field work. The new researcher was competent, but unfortunately fell quite sick over the course of the field work, which caused severe delays to data analysis and reporting back to OPM with FGDs and IDIs.

A.3 Limitations

The researchers faced difficulties in conducting interviews, particularly with the secondary audience at the district level but also at the village level. The lead researcher from Tamil Nadu writes that:

“Some of the interviews with district level stakeholders particularly with officials in Salem district did not go well on expected lines. Though district officials were very cooperative in providing local contacts with village level officials when it came to expressing their detailed views on different aspects they were not very keen in responding to many questions except providing some data related to activities of their departments in addressing the child labour issue. Some officers like SSA in charge and DEO Education officer Salem declined to talk details saying that ‘researchers are new to this office’ and advised us to talk to other junior level officials in their department. When researchers contacted other officials they simply gave us some data on particulars number of schools, teachers, school going children in the district. For many questions researchers received similar standard answers like ‘the administration has taken all necessary steps to contain child labour. We do not have many child labourers in the district.’ Neither the labour department nor the education department had details about the seasonal migrant child workers coming every year to the district to work on cottonseed farms. When asked about this category of working children they said ‘we had this problem earlier but now this has almost stopped.’ The impression researchers got from these discussions is that the district administration particularly at Salem is not ready to acknowledge the intensity of the problem. Also the officials do not want to contradict the official data which indicates

304 Pilot district was initially Yavatmal, but after an initial recce visit, it was determined that there was very little justification for doing the pilot here given the limited cotton cultivation and CSP. It was decided to shift the pilot to Banaskantha district in Gujarat and to select an alternative district for field work in MAH – Jalna. This involved a repeat recce visit, further delayed by hiring of a new researcher for MAH because the earlier one took up a position at TISS as Registrar and did not have time for the field work. The new researcher unfortunately fell quite sick over the course of the field work, which caused severe delays to data analysis and reporting to OPM


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very few child labourers in the district (The official data indicates less than 1% of children in the district are out of school ).Though district officials were a bit reluctant to share their views during individual interviews they took active participation and more willing to share their ideas during the discussions particularly group work at district level workshop conducted on 29-10-09 (see the note on . district level workshop).”

Researchers in Rajasthan reported the following limitations: (1) Strong Defensive Behaviour: The researchers encountered a very defensive behaviour on the issue of child labour. The impact of last few years of sustained movement against child labour migration was quite visible in the atmosphere. The team could sense particularly in Kharbar village the ‘keep your mouth shut’ approach regarding sharing of any information about child work. This was encountered with all the groups- except with the group of girl child workers and opinion leaders. This hampered the work and its pace as well its quality to some extent. Every one denied that children have gone to work for cottonseed production to Gujarat despite definite information with us. The teacher was not forthcoming especially in giving information about child labour movement to Gujarat. It was more than obvious from his weak denials and contradictory statements. For instance when asked about the dropouts of last year he said 12 did not give annual examinations. The SDMC member of the school had said that there were 29 dropouts last year. He appeared quite uneasy about sharing information. In the last he said that please do not write anything that may adversely affect him. It appeared that it is his responsibility to ensure that children do not migrate for cotton work. The parent also denied because they apprehended that revealing this information is likely to put them in trouble. Children were hiding this out of shame, to hide the uncomfortable reality from the educated outsiders. (2) Peak Season: The other limitation of work related to peak season. The most of the area is single crop area and this was the time when the only crop was standing mature in the fields. The labour demand for agriculture work is at its peak. The availability of time thus was always a major concern for most of the working children as well as parents. For instance, when mothers FGD was going on in Khadakaya, suddenly two of the five women respondents got and said they have work and shall have to go. Similarly when girl child workers FGD was on at Kharbar, one of girls mother called her daughter several times and finally she herself came rushing to call her. She was extremely annoyed as the girl was to keep vigil of the Khet and because she disappeared, some goats entered the khet and damaged crop. (3) Difficult area and time fluency problem: The problem became more acute for the reason that people have difficulty in keeping time. If called at ten o’clock the next morning, the reality is that of ten persons called only five may turn up and that too at different points of time. Thus there was an acute problem of time fluency, a concept wherein 10 AM doest not strictly mean 10AM- it could be anywhere between 98-9 Am to 12 noon or even later. Even after calling again at agreed time some may come, some may come late and some may still not come at all. The added problem lay in the fact that the houses are located at different hill tops and it is difficult to reach to each house to call again and doing that require time and energy. (4) Question of Age: The age is a real problematic. Even educated teacher is not aware of the date of birth of their children. The concept of birthday celebration is unknown in the area. Asking about age meant a lot of time, more so because each family has six-seven children. Researchers therefore did not pursue this much.


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(5) Large Scope of Information Sought: The information to be gathered was quite large in scope. It was not possible to have detailed probing in respect of all the information. Information on each broad theme was to be managed within given time period. Researchers attempted to cover all major themes. (6) Level of articulation: Level of articulation including that of school children is relatively slow and therefore a lot more time was needed to gather information. Since the time was limited there were limits placed on the information sought. A deliberate attempt was made to offset some of the adverse impact on these limitations on the quality of data by gathering additional information thought select case studies, additional interviews of some individuals and groups and other sources, allowing wiser participation in FGDs, taking local help for optimal time utilisation, etc.

Researchers in Gujarat reported the following limitations:

Based on initial field experiences researchers decided to have groups based on specific communities. The reason was that researchers faced problems in gathering different communities for same FGD at one place. After having developed an understanding researchers made a plan of doing FGDs with different community groups so as to cover all the groups and keeping focus on the objectives of the study. Accordingly researchers did (i) two FGDs for Bhagiyas in each village- one for working boys and one for fathers of working boys. (ii) For FGDs related to working girls researchers chose SC community in Samatra and Ahir/Darbar community in case of Bhuwad (iii) Working mothers FGDs included Dataniya and SC communities in Bhuwad and Samatra respectively (both these communities are in poor and fall in zero education zone) (iv) Rabari community in Samatra was included in Elders of child workers (v) In NWC FGDs researchers tried to have participation of children from different communities. But in Samatra that could not happen due to holidays. The NCW group was dominated by Patels and Darbar. Choosing participants from similar type of socio-economic background was not always possible. The child non-labourers FGDs choices were limited due to vacations during entire course of field work. The school closed at Diwali were to open only on 5th November. Therefore researchers relied upon the head master of the school who arranged to call the children. Researchers had to select from within the groups of children who came.


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A.4 Village selection and justification

Table A.1 Gujarat

Village Reason for selection Other information

Bhuwad village, Anjar block, Kutch district

Produces Bt cotton Mixed population of landed castes, bhagiyas, lower castes, OBC.

300 households

Samatra, Kachchh block, Kutch district

Produces Bt cotton Large proportion of Patel (upper caste) families; own land cultivated by Bhagiya families.

Table A.2 Maharashtra


Chandai Ekko Number of children working in cotton, number of children migrating to/from outside.

High proportion of girl child labour

Children working in vegetable seed production.

Mixed community – Upper Hindu caste group is not majority (142 households); less in number than OBC (228) and SC households (125) combined

Jalna District

Khadaki Less intensive cotton production

More of a homogenous community with mostly Upper Hindu Caste households (242), and a few Muslim (10) and SC households (42)

Jalna District

Table A.3 Rajasthan


Kharbar A, Sarada block, Udaipur district

Large proportion of children migrate to Gujarat for cottonseed production

Population 15,000

Khadakaya, Kherwada block, Udaipur district

Out-migration to Gujarat cotton farms

75% of families send children; other non-tribal families can afford to send their children to school


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Table A.4 Tamil Nadu


Sitteri Children travel from Siruvarchur to Salem to work on cottonseed farms. Trying to track labour from Sitteri to Siruvarchur. Discuss with parents of children to get a sense of where they are sending their children and what are the mechanisms for recruitment etc. Can then go to the place (possibly Siruvarchur) to where the children actually travel to verify the information gathered about wages, recruitment, conditions, etc.

Source village in Dharmapuri district, Sitheri Block, for children who travel to Salem district to work in cottonseed. Some farmers have started producing cottonseed.

Siruvarchur – or whichever village researchers find that children move to.

Important destination area for migrant children from Dharmapuri. Enables following migrant children who travel from Dharmapuri to Salem.

Destination village in Salem district, Atur Block. Cotton and cottonseed producing area. 1000 acres of land under cottonseed production.

A.5 Activities conducted

A.5.1 Gujarat

LOCATION: Village Bhuwad, Anjar Block, Gujarat

Month: September 2009

Date FGD IDI Remarks

22 Nil (1) Sarpanch (2) AWW

23 Two: (1) NWC_GIRLS (2) NWC_BOYS

(3) Talati

(4) Teacher

Selection by the School Teacher and Team. At AWC_OLD

24 Could not be done. (5) Member VEC (6) NGO (D1) ALC (D2) DEO

1. On previous day opinion leaders FGD was arranged by social worker. Researchers set at a place. But representatives from only two communities were present. It was postponed for next day morning. 2. The Govt officials refused to get the IDI recorded.

25 (3) CW_GIRLS (Local) (4) NCW_MOTHERS

(7) Member SJC (8) Small Farmer

(1) In the morning none of the opinion leaders showed up at the decided venue. Even the person at whose house researchers were to assemble was not at home. Others were also not available because of a death in the village.

(2) The FGDs were conducted at new AWC located in prosperous community. For this reason there was no participation of SC among mothers. (3) Approached Sarpanch to arrange for opinion leaders who promised for 28th morning


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26 (5) Opinion Leaders (6) NCW_Elders

Nil Despite the Asthami festival. Opinion leaders FGD could finally take place as a joint efforts of the team and help from the Sarpanch.

27 (7) CW_Elders (8) CW_MOTHERS (Local) (9) NCW_FATHERS (Local)

Nil Being Vijat Dashmi FGDs relating to Bhagiyas could not be planned as majority of them had left for home town.

28 Nil Nil Being Vijay Dashmi pending Bhagiyas FGD could not be organised because several of them had left for home town.

Notes: 1. Only nine FGD could be completed.

2. Total IDIs done 10:Eight for the village and two at district levels.

3. District level were done by OPM.

4. The village look homogenous but is highly stratified.

5. Several times planned and decided FGDs could not be done. The important reasons include very busy agricultural season and daily short distance migration for work.

6. Sarpanch of the village has been very helpful. Though he is a big landlord yet he was helping. The fact that researchers are working on to improve children’s future helped us establish rapport with him and he shared with us some important information. For instance lot of Gochar land has been given to one industrialist to set-up a factory (Surya group of Delhi). There is a committee of influential people in the village to facilitate working of Surya group. In lieu of Gochar land the Co is going to give some money for welfare of the children. Sarpanch boasted that there has been no opposition to factory in the village where as Man Industry is having problem in acquisition of land in a nearby village. He attributed this to harmonious relations between different castes and positive attitude towards the development issues. Out of about 2000 job that will be created, 100-130 jobs would be given to unemployed persons of this village. These all will be menial jobs. So far no one has been given though.


186 May 2010

A.5.2 Maharashtra

Table 9.17 Groups

Group type Village one – Chandai Ekko Village two –Khadaki

Child labourers (female) Completed Completed

Child labourers (male) Completed Completed

Child non-labourers (female) Completed Completed

Child non-labourers (male) Completed Completed

Child labourers’ fathers Completed Completed

Child labourers’ mothers Completed Completed

Child non-labourers’ fathers Completed Completed

Child non-labourers’ mothers Completed Completed

Child labourers’ family elders Completed Completed

Child non-labourers’ family elders Different pattern in Maharashtra

Village opinion leaders Completed Completed

Total (max) 10 10

Table 9.18 Interviews

Interview Village 1 Chandai Ekko Village 2- Khadaki

1 Village representative (e.g. Sarpanch, sachiv) Completed 2. 2 completed

2 NGO workers No NGO No NGO

3 Formal and informal group members (e.g. SHG, Youth Groups)

Completed. Completed

4 School Development Committee member Completed Completed

5 Teachers (upper primary, govt) Completed -2 Completed-2

6 Anganwadi worker Completed Completed

7 Employers Completed Completed

8 Organisers (destination only) Not applicable Not applicable

9 Sub-organisers (destination only) Not applicable Not applicable

10 Ginning mill owners (destination only) Only one for both villages -

11 Transporters/labour gang members Not applicable Not applicable

12 Contractors (source only) Not applicable Not applicable

Total 9 8


187 May 2010

Table 9.19 Interviews in district headquarters

Interview Number

1 Government officials (e.g. district collector, ADM, SDM, labour department, education department)

2

2 District level anti-trafficking and child labour committee members 1

3 Media representatives 1

4 Child rights units / helplines

5 Judiciary members 2

6 Elected representatives

Total 6

Table 9.20 District workshop

Village 1 Village 2 District Total

Feedback to primary audience and agree presentation to District workshop - tentatively 26-28th Oct.

Feedback to primary audience and agree presentation to District workshop 26th -28th Oct.

Presentation to secondary audience and brainstorm communications ideas

First week of Nov.09

3

A.5.3 Rajasthan

VILLAGE 1: KHARBAR A, Sarada, Udaipur.

Month: September, 2009

Date FGD IDI Remarks

18 Nil Nil It was a short exploratory visit to establish contacts. The earlier contact refused to help apprehending retaliation from the vested interests.

19 Nil Nil Researchers visited the village but nothing could be organised for that day. Researchers set up two FGDs for next day. Offices including Tehsil were closed for three days. So the state help could not be availed of.

20 (1) NWC_Mothers (2) OL Nil The venue included AWC and old school building. Researchers visited a house of a boy who was taken for CSP work and met with an accident. He was interviewed him and mother and small case study has been prepared.

21 (3) WC_Girls (1) SDMC Member

The group is of those girls who had gone last year (2008) for cotton work and have not been sent this year as they have come of age. Two were engaged and others were also perceived to be grown up.


188 May 2010

22 (4) NWC_Boys (5)NWC_Girls

(2) Teacher (3) NGO Worker (D1) ALC

After three days of holidays it was the first day of school. Selection of students was done by the HM of the school on the basis of the criteria explained to him. The experience was that they were quite closed and did not open much. This reflects also on the kind of education being provided.

24 (6) WC_Elders (4) AWW

27 (7) NWC_Fathers (5) Sarpanch & (6) Patwari

29 (8) WC_Mothers

30 (9) WC_Boys

Notes:

Denial of child labour and migration for cotton work came out as one important stumbling block in doing FGDs in Kharbar A. The denial was there by schoolteachers; even otherwise sensitive people denied it. Specially, this created a lot of problem in selection of appropriate groups for FGD like working children’s mothers/fathers. Group of vested interests were found to be active to deny and create different blocks in engaging groups to discuss the problem. Several times attempts had been made to persuade those who agreed to participate to withdraw. Opposition to survey work was quite obvious. This especially happened when on an appointed day team reached AWW to interview mothers. It was reported by AWW that on Thursdays poor mothers whose children go for CSP work visit AWC and she called us for the FGD. It was further reported about a person who took 100 children for work this year. When cotton work came up during the discussions after the assembly of women. Suddenly women started saying that no child of theirs have gone for work to Gujarat. Later on researchers learnt that the Met in question who took children for work is none other than the husband of Sahogini (second worker of AWC). He too was hanging around. He when talked to became very sensitive and said that he took only 10 labourers this year. And women started saying that none of our children have gone for work.

Principal of only middle school appeared to be under pressure to hide and withhold information.

The terrain has been most difficult to access households, especially in some Phalan where child labour families are in large numbers.

Facing problem in holding IDIs of Sachiv, Sarpanch, Patwari and Meths because of non-availability, avoidance and refusal. Holidays have only added further to the problems.

Details of experiences setting up FGDs is available in a separate note


189 May 2010

VIILAGE: KADAKAYA, Kerwada, Udaipur

MONTH: October 2009.

October 3

Nil Nil In the morning visit was made to Khadakaya. School was visited and 5th was decided for NCW_FGD for Boys and Girls. Later the contact at Kharbar called for CW. Fathers FGD at 3 PM. Team waited there for four hours and was even ready to stay in the night. But only three fathers reached and the contact person said that it might not be possible in the night. So no FGD could be held.

5 (1) NWC_Boys

(2) NWC_Girls

Nil Selection by HM and Team

Fixed FGD for OL for 6th

6 Nil Nil Only three OL reached. Waited for three hours. But because of a death most of the people had gone for Kiryawar. Used time with present leaders to seek information about the village and did Village mapping. Also fixed up FGDs for eighth.

7 Nil Collector and SP

(1) Patwari

Collector refused to give interview. SP refused to get his talk reported. When asked about recording his stance completely changed. He was even uncomfortable with taking notes. The DEO retired just a few days ago- so was not available.

8 (3) OL (4) NCW_Mothers (5) CW_Mothers

(2) HM_School (3) AWW

There was a very good team of four people who helped in setting up FGDs. The general atmosphere here was not that of denial. Two persons who helped us are ward panches and the third one is the leader of village committee of Union. And the fourth was the local teacher.

9 (6) WC_Girls (7) NWC_Fathers (8) Elders

Nil Got good support.

10 (9) WC_Fathers (4) Sachiv (5) NGO (6) SDMC

Notes:

Khadakaya is relatively backward village with no electricity. It is a border village with the Gujarat and many households go to work in the morning and come back in the evening after work in nearby Gujarat villages.

It was reported that due to the fact that some of the cottonseed production has started here itself, the migration has come down.

General problems:

1. There were two main problems faced. They also have become the limiting factor. One relate to the timings. This is the peak season and no one has time to spare. In several cases women would simply get up and leave after about little over an hour or so. There is only one crop and this is the peak period. The second problem related to level of articulation. In some of the groups especially the women’s groups the it was time consuming and tough to get detailed information. 2. The defensive behaviour also created some problem and posed a limit.

A.5.4 Tamil Nadu

Table 9.21 Groups


190 May 2010

Group type Village one - Sitteri (Dharmapuri district)

Village two – Pudur ( Salem district)

Child labourers (female) Completed Completed

Child labourers (male) Completed. Completed

Seasonal/potential child workers- (Male) Completed.

Seasonal/potential child workers- (Female ) Completed.

Child non-labourers (female) Completed Completed

Child non-labourers (male) Completed Completed

Child labourers’ fathers Completed Completed

Child labourers’ mothers Completed Completed

Child non-labourers’ fathers Completed Completed

Child non-labourers’ mothers Completed Completed

Child labourers’ family elders completed

Child non-labourers’ family elders Completed

Village opinion leaders Completed Completed

Total (max) 10 (completed) 12 (completed)

Table 9.22 Interviews in villages

Interview Village one – Sitteri (Dharmapuri district)

Village two – Pudur ( Salem district)

1 Village representative (e.g. Sarpanch) Completed -1 Completed- 1

2 NGO workers Completed Completed

3 Formal and informal group members (e.g. SHG, Youth Groups)

Completed Completed

4 School Development Committee member Completed Completed

5 Teachers (upper primary, govt) Completed -2 Completed- 1

6 Anganwadi worker Completed Completed

7 Employers Not applicable Completed

8 Organisers (destination only) Not applicable Completed

9 Sub-organisers (destination only) Not applicable

10 Ginning mill owners (destination only) Not applicable Completed

11 Transporters/labour gang members Not available

12 Contractors (source only) Not applicable

Total 7 (completed)

9 (completed)


191 May 2010

Table 9.23 Interviews in district headquarters –

Interview Number

1 Government officials (e.g. district collector, ADM, SDM, labour department, education department)

Completed 4

NCLP, PD, Labour inspector, SSA, BDO

2 District level anti-trafficking and child labour committee members Completed

3 Media representatives Completed

4 Child rights units / helplines Not available

5 Judiciary members Not done

6 Elected representatives Completed

Total 7

Table 9.24 District workshop

Village 1 Village 2 District Total

Feedback to primary audience and agree presentation to District workshop - tentatively 27th Oct.

Feedback to primary audience and agree presentation to District workshop 28th Oct.

Presentation to secondary audience and brainstorm communications ideas

3


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Annex B Methodological annex

B.1 Approach to participatory research and intervie ws

B.1.1 Participatory research methods

Researchers use a range of participatory methodologies as specified in the proposal, subsequently developed, and being refined in the pilot. Many of these groups were not literate, so no demands were made on participants to read or write (which would anyway exclude those who cannot and make them uncomfortable). Efforts were also made to make females feel entirely comfortable (by using female facilitators). This is extremely important, since women are considerable less open around men, and since women and men often have very different perceptions of the same issue.

B.1.2 Children

Participatory research methods are used with both children and adults. Participatory work with children requires particular care, including adherence to UNICEF and UN conventions on child rights and on research with children. The methodology has as its basis UNICEF’s note on ‘The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), Ending Child Labour, and Ensuring Education for All, and particularly sections 3, 4 and 5 on ‘Attitudes, customs and practices’, ‘Open discussion’, and ‘Children’s life skills, knowledge, and participation. It is useful to reiterate parts of these sections here since they underlie the methodology that follows.

Section 3 that states that “it is necessary to change mindsets and misconceptions such as the idea that child labour is a necessary evil that cannot be effectively addressed until poverty is eradicated, or that educating a girl is a poor investment as she will marry and leave home...” Section 4 states that “Changing attitudes that condone child labour can be supported by civil society and media engagement…” Section 5 states that “Children can be agents of change through active participation and communication with their parents, employers, and other adults. Children must have a say in what might keep them in school…”

The methodology is in line with this note. Any research with children must, in addition, provide fully adequate safeguards to ensure that all children are fully protected at all times from negative effects of the process and consequences of the research. As researchers, managers, and practitioners, we take extremely seriously our responsibilities – outlined in the CRC – to ensure that ethical difficulties are met in our methodology. An Evaluation Technical Note from UNICEF’s Evaluation Office summarises the key points:305

• Children’s participation should be considered on an equal and non-discriminatory basis.

• Researchers and evaluators must consider how the research supports the best interest of each child.

305 UNICEF Evaluation Office, 2002, ‘Children Participating in Research, Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) – Ethics and your responsibilities as a manager’, Evaluation Technical Notes No 1, UNICEF Evaluation Office.


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• Children’s views should not be used merely as data from subjects of investigation, and should be considered and taken into account in all matters that affect them.

• Children have the right to freedom of expression and information in a medium of their choice.

• Children’s participation in research must be fully informed.

• Children must be free not to participate.

• Researchers must acknowledge and ideally seek to build on children’s freedom of thought, conscience, and religion, and parents’/guardians’ role in exercising this right.

• Research should recognise children’s right to free association and peaceful assembly, and where possible should ideally support their representation at wider forums.

These principles inform the methodology, which aims at the upper end of Hart’s ladder of participation, at what Hart calls ‘Models of Genuine Participation’.306 The methodology can be classed, in Hart’s terms, as ‘Adult Initiated, Shared Decisions with Children’. This reflects the fact that although the research is initiated by UNICEF – and then conducted by a research organisation – the decisions made during the research (and ideally after) would be substantially made by children, shared with adults. As noted above, current research suggests that cotton labour migrants are increasingly older children (14 and above), so these children are likely to have the ability to participate at these high levels. Nevertheless, given the possibility that research will work with younger children, the approach retains Hart’s principle that “programmes should be designed which maximise the opportunity for any child to choose to participate at the highest level of his ability.”307

Children are divided by gender into different groups, and to begin with participatory group work. It is crucial that research with children is enjoyable for participants. Generally, this will generate much more reliable information and lead to children taking better and more considered decisions. This suggests that the research should deploy a range of techniques.

The approach uses the Children’s Perspectives Protocol adapted to the local context in India.308 This is a resource that allows children of similar ages, occupation and gender to generate qualitative and quantitative information and verbal quotations on given issues. Children are encouraged to represent feelings in whatever way is appropriate to them, and this tool does not rely on literacy. Activities initially planned (though subject to change after the pilot and during training) include:

1. ‘My day’ – child workers described their daily lives using drawing and mapping techniques. Children will be asked to list activities chronologically during the day, aided by symbols and pictures and through generating their own depictions. Children will also be asked to list their activities during the previous 12 months, and to state whether these are conducted at home or elsewhere, and their duration.

306 Hart, R., 1992, Innocenti Papers. Page 8. 307 Hart, 1992, page 11. 308 See e.g. Woodhead, M., 1999, Combating Child Labour: Listen to what Children Say.


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2. Place mapping – where children compare their experiences of being at home and being at work. Home and work are depicted by symbols and children are facilitated to draw symbols representing good and bad things about each. This forms the basis for further discussion drawing on their own experiences and providing examples.

3. ‘My activities’ – where children use the list of activities developed in the ‘my day’ exercise and develop categories of positive and negative features about these activities and negative features of these activities. They will then generate a matrix and score this by sticking bindis in the box (activity by feature) that they feel is most important. A limited number of bindis will ensure that children prioritise and generate a clear ranking. This will form the basis for a discussion drawing on their own experience.

4. ‘Work and school’ – where children follow from ‘my activities’ to note more specifically good and bad things about work and school (both in general – i.e. education – and in their particular schools) and establishes a preference. Work and school will be depicted on a chart using symbols. Children can use balloons (going up) to indicate positive things and stones (hanging down) to indicate negative things. Larger balloons and stones represent more important features – in order to derive not only a list but a list ordered by importance for each child and added together for the group (by the number of balloons for each category). Children can also use areas around the symbols (depicted as grassy areas) to list improvements they would seek to make to their school or work. This forms the basis for further discussion drawing on their own experiences and providing examples. Children will be asked to discuss more specific questions around school (is it a chore, a right, a pleasure, a necessity, a distraction, etc.) and work (conditions of payment, experiences, use of money, food, sleeping arrangements, etc.). This can lead to a broader recognition of the need to address child labour, and will inform the KAP study.

5. ‘Who matters?’ – an investigation into children’s networks and sources of information and influence, particularly around child labour and education. Children are asked to identify different actors or institutions that they trust (parents, teachers, media, etc.), the ways in which these actors and institutions can communicate in a trustworthy way (i.e. speech, meetings, writings, etc.), and the subjects on which they can be trusted. The tool will focus on the trust around child labour and education issues. The tool will involve drawing a circle around a representation of the child, with actors and institutions at different points of the circle, and thicker lines representing greater trust. This will directly inform the communication strategy.

6. Role play. Children are facilitated to present small plays on specific issues – in this instance on the decision to go to work, the journey to work, the experience of work, and workers in the future. The role play is useful because children are able to present experiences with talking specifically about themselves, which can allow a much greater breadth of expression. This forms the basis for further discussion, where children are encouraged to talk about the different roles they played, why actors behaved in certain ways, and why certain events happened.

Various techniques will be used to ensure that children remain interested in the research and enjoy the experience. Groups may need to start with games (such as Captain, captain or memory games), and these games can also be played during the groups when energy seems low. Children will also be given sweets during the groups and will be encouraged to participate by ensuring that the activities make them feel comfortable and involved.


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Researchers will address children by name and will sit them in a semi-circle or circle to ensure that they are able to talk to each other.

Children will be selected through snowball sampling (asking one person to recruit another, and that person to recruit another, etc) with the assistance of local advisers. For children working in cotton fields in destination districts, since they live with their employers, researchers may have to go through the employers to select groups of children. This will be explored further during the pilot phase. Research was conducted with children aged 10-18, but will perhaps limit this to age 14-18 depending on the experience of the pilot. Focus groups will be conducted in a secure location in private – it is essential to maintain privacy and impartiality when discussing issues that may be delicate.

9.8.1.2 Adults Focus groups are conducted with different groups of adults (mothers, fathers, elders, and opinion leaders), dividing the groups by gender and type of participant. The participatory methods with adults are similar to those with children and include:

1. Matrix scoring to identify the key forces compelling child labour or preventing schooling for different groups. In this method, participants are asked to list reasons for children to migrate. This is then represented graphically in simple form. Participants then score each reason using a fixed amount of bindis that they can allocate across the reasons.

2. Facilitated group discussion. This is particularly useful with a homogeneous group of adults on a fairly narrow subject. Once participants are feeling comfortable with the research and with each other, discussions can be extremely helpful to explore issues in greater depth. This will be developed form the matrix scoring exercises.

3. Community mapping – where participants are asked to map the important features of their community and then to explore the map to gain an understanding of which communities live in which areas, what activities are conducted in different areas, why the community is arranged in this way, why certain features are important. This exercise allows us to deepen our understanding of why certain activities take place and why and how certain groups in the community may be marginalised and more inclined to child labour and away from schooling.

4. Who matters? These maps can help to identify credible individuals in the community, and show how they are linked to each other and to sources of credibility. This tool sets the back ground for a discussion of credibility, but also provides the input to a focused communications strategy.

In destination areas, adult groups were with the parents of the local child workers (since parents of the migrant child workers will usually not be present) and researchers will ask in general about child labour issues. In source areas, adult groups were with the parents of the workers who travel to cotton districts to work in cotton. Adults were selected through snowball sampling (asking one person to recruit another, and that person to recruit another, etc), on the basis that they meet the criteria for the group (e.g. mothers of workers in cotton). This process will be facilitated by local advisers. Groups were with 5-8 adults in a secluded location. As with children, privacy and impartiality are vital to ensure honest and open responses. The groups normally lasted 1.5-2 hours.

Table B.5 provides a summary of the tools used with different groups.


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Table B.5 Tools to be used with different groups

Group type My day

Matrix scoring

Focused discussion

Place mapping

Community mapping

Influence mapping

Role play

Aspirations

Actual child workers (female)

Actual child workers (male)

Potential child workers (female)

Potential child workers (male)

Actual child workers’ fathers

Actual child workers’ mothers

Potential child workers’ fathers

Potential child workers’ mothers

Actual child workers’ family elders

Potential child workers’ family elders

Village opinion leaders

B.1.3 Interviews

Research with the Secondary Target Audience took place through the form of in-depth interviews. These interviews were semi-structured, whereby the interviewer has a checklist of issues to cover, but the interviewee is allowed to direct the flow of the interview. Individuals for these interviews were selected with help from Advisers and from UNICEF staff, from the list of the secondary target audience above.

These interviews also formed the basis for further discussion of the issue of child labour in cotton. These individuals will be critical to eliminating child labour and improving education, and the interviews attempted to build bridges to them. Data management

Interviews and groups were recorded where possible using MP3 recorders, which provided transcriptions translated into English. The physical outputs and interactions (and other interactions that cannot be detected by the recorder) were noted by the researchers and


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contributed to their analysis, and where possible typed up into notes in English. It should be noted that some research participants may prefer that they are not recorded using the MP3 recorders, and in these cases their wishes will be respected and notes will be used instead.

Transcripts and MP3 recordings were collected by OPM and used for quality control and analysis, during the research supervision visits of the research coordinator.


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Annex C State level overview

C.1 Overview of cotton/cottonseed production and gr owth in research states

India is a world leader in both cotton and cottonseed production. The roughly 9 million hectares under cotton cultivation accounts for one fifth of the global land area devoted to the crop and 12% of global cotton production. There has been a sharp increase in both the amount of acreage devoted to cotton and cotton yields in recent years. Between 2003/4 and 2006/7 acreage increased from 7.6 million hectares to 9.1 million hectares, which is an increase of 20% in just 3 years. Yields increased by 25% over the same period, with the increased productivity largely attributed to the switch towards BT (Bacillus Thuringiensis) cotton hybrids away from traditional hybrids. BT cotton hybrids are now used in roughly 2/3rds of the total cotton-growing area309.

In the four states selected for the study, similar trends can be observed in the increase of yield from cotton production, as exemplified by the table below. Compared to 1996-97 levels, 2008-09 yields increased 57% in Rajasthan, 66% in Gujarat, 85% in Maharashtra and a stunning 97% in Tamil Nadu. Year on year trends also show constant growth in yields, though estimates for 2008-2009 are stable or decreasing in Gujarat, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu.

Table C.6 Yield from cotton production 1996-2009, s tate-wise

Year 1996-97 2000-01 2003-04 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09*

Rajasthan 364 358 452 437 451 572

Gujarat 382 250 516 733 786 633

Maharashtra 182 101 191 274 330 336

Tamil Nadu 360 484 619 850 714 708

Source: Cotton Advisory Board, modified by authors. Note that yield is expressed in kgs per hectare. *Data for 2009 are estimates.

Trends in the total area under cotton production in the four states, however, present a different picture. As the table below shows, with the exception of Gujarat, areas under cotton production have decreased in Rajasthan310 and remained somewhat stable in Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu.

Table C.7 Area of cotton production 1996-2009, stat e-wise

Year 1996-97 2000-01 2003-04 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09* Rajasthan 6.54 5.1 3.44 3.5 3.39 2.23 Gujarat 15.24 16.15 16.47 23.9 24.22 24.17 Maharashtra 30.85 30.77 27.66 31.07 31.94 31.33 Tamil Nadu 2.6 1.93 1.03 1 1.19 1.2

309 Data from the Cotton Advisory Board, cited in Davuluri (2007: 12). 310 Note that Rajasthan is included in this study as a source of labour for cotton work in Gujarat, so decreasing trends in acreage and production are not surprising.


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Source: Cotton Advisory Board, modified by authors. Note that area is expressed in lakh hectares. *Data for 2009 are estimates.

As for trends in production, which are expressed in lakh bales of 170 kg, trends vary across states. While in Rajasthan production has decreased in line with decreased acreage, in Tamil Nadu it remained stable, while increasing significantly in Gujarat and Maharashtra (if 2009 estimates are not taken into account).

Table C.8 Cotton production 1996-2009, state-wise

Year 1996-97 2000-01 2003-04 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09*

Rajasthan 14 10.75 9.15 9 9 7.5

Gujarat 34.25 23.75 50 103 112 90

Maharashtra 33 18.25 31 50 62 62

Tamil Nadu 5.5 5.5 3.75 5 5 5 Source: Cotton Advisory Board, modified by authors. Note that production is expressed in lakh bales of 170 kgs. *Data for 2009 are estimates.

One last indicator which is useful to uncover state-level trends in cotton production is the state level cotton consumption by cotton ginning mills. Data in the table below covers the 2001-2005 period, revealing a general increase in consumption, despite significant year on year fluctuations. Note that Tamil Nadu is the main centre for cotton spinning in India. There are 815 spinning mills in Tamil Nadu which account for 52 percent of all spinning mills in the country311. While cottonseed production in the state is concentrated in Salem district, the spinning and garment manufacturing is concentrated in Coimbatore district.

Table C.9 State-wise cotton consumption by textile mills 2000-2005

Year 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 Rajasthan 101619 89795 98276 94694 96929 Gujarat 196647 228572 212919 198638 236196 Maharashtra 334074 314009 297043 271506 321338 Tamil Nadu 1120379 1144191 1178287 1160891 1245826 Total 1752719 1776567 1786525 1725729 1900289 Source: Office of the Textile Commissioner, Mumbai, modified by authors. Quantities expressed in ‘000 Kgs

C.2 Trends in child labour in research states

While overall trends of acreage, production and yields give a sense of the magnitude of cotton production in the research areas, this section aims to give a quick overview of child labour practises and magnitude estimates in the four states.

311 Magnitude of Child Labour in India An Analysis of Official Sources of Data (Draft) NCPER


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C.2.1.1 Rajasthan The number of child workers in Rajasthan stood at 12,62,570 in 2001. The Work Participation Rate of children increased from 6.40 percent in 1991 to 8.25 percent in 2001312, placing Rajasthan third amongst the major states in India in terms of absolute number of working children, accounting for 10 percent of the total number of working children in the country.

Child Labour in Rajasthan is found in innumerable employments, mostly in the production of handicrafts and in agriculture. However, most serious in terms of child development is the trafficking of tribal children from South Rajasthan to Gujarat and other states for work in hotels, domestic work, agriculture, textile markets, factories, and –significantly– cross pollination of cottonseed313.

There are no definite studies available that trace the source area of workers from within South Rajasthan for cottonseed work in northern Gujarat. However, the trade union DRMU tried to initiate a process of registration of contractors who carry children to cottonseed plots (locally known as Meths) under the Inter State Migrant Workmen Act in 2006. The movement was quite successful and 2700 meths applied for registration. The number of meths in different blocks of South Rajasthan is a good indirect indicator of the areas from where children are coming as mates are likely to recruit locally first. Workers are recruited from a wide arc stretching from Kotra in the West to Simalwada in the East – primarily from the tribal blocks that border the two districts where CSP is concentrated in Gujarat – Banaskantha and Sabarkantha. The intensity of recruitment decreases as one moves inside Rajasthan.

C.2.1.2 Gujarat The total number of child workers in Gujarat in the 5-14 age-group stood at 485,530, according to the 2001 census. Encouragingly, the Work Participation Rate for children in this age group showed a decline from 5.26 percent to 4.28 percent between 1991-2001314. The NSS estimate for child workers in the year 2004-05 was lower at 302,000 workers315. This official data is somewhat at variance with observed reality that shows increasing demand for child workers in various sectors of the economy, due to economic growth316. A leading child right activist of the state put the number of child labourers in the state at more than five lakh in 2007317. This dichotomy may be partially explained by the fact that the increasing number of child workers in the state comprises of inter-state migrant workers who are not accounted for in census and NSSO figures.

As for the incidence of child labour in the cotton sector, there is abundant evidence from cottonseed production, but not cotton production. Cotton plucking in the area is mostly 312 Census 2001 figures as quoted in Magnitude of Child Labour in India – An Analysis of Official Sources of Data, NCPCR paper on net 313 Note that cotton is also grown in substantial parts of Rajasthan. Of late most of the area is concentrated in the irrigated command areas of Indira Gandhi Nahar Pariyojna in the North of the state. Reports confirm that large numbers of children go from Alwar district to the cotton production areas in IGNP command areas, though cross-state migration is still a larger phenomenon. 314 Compiled from Census of India 1991, 2001 records, as quoted in Magnitude of Child Labour in India - Analysis of Official Sources of Data, A NCPCR report. 315 Derived from state level unit records of NSS, round 2004-05 316 Economic growth and the persistence of child labour: Evidence from an Indian city, Madhura Swaminathan, Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai, India 317 Sukhdeo Patel in World Proust Assembly update


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contracted out to local agriculture workers who bring their whole family to work, including children. It is very difficult to estimate the entity of this phenomenon. Engagement of child labour in cottonseed production, on the other hand, has been studied abundantly. Idar town in Sabarkantha district of North Gujarat is an established centre of cottonseed production. The town is located on the edge of a vast tribal belt that has been a perennial source of child workers. While the centre of production has now shifted to Deodar – Sihori taluka of District Banaskantha further away, the labour catchment area continues to be the same.

The table below presents summary findings from the two major reports on the incidence of child labour in CSP, authored by Davuluri of GLOCAL Consultancy318 and a DRMU report authored by Ashok Khandelwal et al319. The data set clearly shows that most of the child labour engaged in CSP comprises of child – adolescent labour (below 18 years of age)320.

Table C.10 Incidence and Trend of Child Labour in C SP areas of Gujarat

Sl Indicator 2003-04 2006-07 2007 Davuluri Davuluri Khandelwal 1 Number of workers below

14years 91,000 86,360 83,333

2 Number of workers in 15-18 age group

85,200 88,900 105,250

3 Total workers below 18 years

176,200 175,260 188,583

6 %age of children below 14 in total workforce

34.9 32.7 32.9

7 %age of children in 15-18 age group in total

workforce

31.18 33.4 42.1

8 %age of children below 18 years in total workforce

66.08 66.1 75

Note: It needs to be noted that the number of children are guesstimates that extrapolate the number based on acreage and per acre requirement of workers. C.2.1.3 Maharashtra According to estimates from the two most recent Censuses, Maharashtra had 1,068,427 working children in the 5-14 age-group in 1991, which reduced to 764,075 in 2001321. Maharashtra has also shown a declining trend with regard to work participation rates of children, which has decreased from 5.73% in 1991 to 3.54% in 2001322.

318 Child labour continues in Indian cotton supply chain, Davuluri V, September 2007 319 Child Labour in Cottonseed production, Ashok Khandelwal, Sudhir Katiyar, Madan Vaishnav, Dakshini Rajasthan Majdoor Union 2008 320 Nearly all the children working on cottonseed plots of North Gujarat come from the tribal belt that stretches from South Rajasthan down to Gujarat. The DRMU study estimates 80% of workers to be interstate migrants and the rest seasonal tribal migrants from within Gujarat. 321 Note that Maharashtra is the most populous state of India, with over 103 million inhabitants. 322 Source: INDUS, Child Labour Project, 2007, Child Labour Facts and Figures: An analysis of Census 2001, ILO and Government of India.


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According to a study by Pratham (a leading NGO in this field) employment of children in the state has invaded most areas of work. Some of the major occupations where children are employed include leather work, jewellery making, carpet weaving, bidi making, match and firework, hotel and dhabas, glass, zari embroidery, domestic help, quarries, begging and rag picking, as well as agriculture.

C.2.1.4 Tamil Nadu In Tamil Nadu, the magnitude of child labour as reported by official sources shows a declining trend323. According to Census data, the total number of child workers in the 5-14 age group in Tamil Nadu declined from 578,889 in 1991 to 418,801 in 2001. Moreover, the work participation rate for children in this age group showed a decline from 4.83% to 3.61% between 1991-2001. The NSS estimate for child workers in the year 2004-05 put the total number of child workers in the state at 173,000 and work participation rate among children at 1.5%.

An ad hoc child labour survey conducted by Tamil Nadu state in 2003 estimated the total number of child labour in the state at 69,521, 54.4% of which represented by boys and 46.6% by girls. Dharmapuri district had the largest number of child labourers, followed by Salem. These are the two districts chosen for the study.

Table C.11 Child Labour Survey March 2003 Tamil Nadu

Hazardous Occupation Non Hazardous Occupation District

Boys Girls Total Boys Girls Total

Total

DHARMAPURI 1475 527 2002 5147 2976 8123 10125 SALEM 1456 878 2334 3090 2523 5613 7947

State Total 8185 7999 16184 29615 23722 53337 69521 Source: Department of Labour, Tamilnadu

Official sources of data in Tamil Nadu don’t have any break up details about the extent of child labour in cotton and cottonseed production. However, two studies conducted in the area, one by the state lead researcher Davuluri Venkateswarlu324 in 2007 and one by UNICEF in 2008325, estimated that a large majority of the workforce in cottonseed farms are children under the age of 18. The key findings from these studies are reproduced in the table below. While UNICEF`s study estimated the total number of children at 51,000 Davuluri`s study estimated this number at 65700.

323 Tamil Nadu is the sixth most populous State of the Indian Union with an estimated population of 65.1 million (2006)323. Though Tamil Nadu is seen as one of the better performed states in India in terms of general economic development, growth in literacy rates and general health of population, child labour is still an issue. 324 Davuluri Venkateswarlu (2007) `Child bondage continues in Indian cotton supply chain: More than 400.000 children in India involved in cottonseed cultivation` jointly published by ICN, OECD WATCH, DWHH, EINE WELT NETZ NRW ILRF 325 UNICEF Office for Tamil Nadu and Kerela (2008) `Report on the situation of children in the cotton seeds producing and cotton growing regions in Tamil Nadu with a focus on selected districts`


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Table C.12 Incidence and Trend of Child Labour in C SP areas of Tamil Nadu

Note: The estimates of child labour presented above are guesstimates that extrapolate the number based on acreage and per acre requirement of workers from sample farms covered by both the studies

2006-07 (source Davuluri)

2007-08 (source UNICEF)

Estimated number of child labourers (below 14 years)

38,700

10,000

% Children (below14) on total labour

46.3% 13.2

% girls (below 14 Years) on total children

58.4% 44.5%

Estimated number of child labourers (15-18 age group)

27,000

41,000

% Children (15-18) on total labour 32.6% 55.9%

% girls on total 15-18 age group 60.5% 48%

% family labour on total workforce 14.6% 26.9%

% hired labour on total workforce 85.4% 73.1%

% migrant labour on total hired labour

82.8% 79.4%

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