DEPARTEMENT OF ENGLISH

A project report on
CHILD LABOR

Submitted by :
SHRUTHII AKILANDESHWARI A

Under the Guidance of :

Ms . N . KASTHURI RACHEL , English PGT ,
M.A.,M.Phil.,M.Ed
 Pon Vidya Mandir
Manmangalam , Karur

Department of English

CERTIFICATE
This is to verify that the English Project “ Child Labor”
has been submitted by Shruthii Akilandeshwari of Grade
XII – A for AISSCE 2024 – 2025 . It is further certified that
this project is the individual work of the candidate.

Teacher In Charge Principal

Internal Examiner External

Examiner
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Ms.

N . Kasthuri Rachel , English PGT, M.A.,M.Phil.,M.Ed
for their unwavering support, insightful guidance,
and constant encouragement throughout this
project. Their expertise and willingness to share
knowledge were instrumental in shaping the final
outcome. Additionally, I am sincerely thankful to
my lovable parents and my fabulous friends for
their collaborative spirit, valuable feedback, and
dedication to achieving our shared goals. This
project would not have been possible without the
incredible support of everyone involved.
 INDEX
 CHILD LABOR
 INTRODUCTION
 DEFINITION
 HISTORY
 INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION
 HOUSEHOLD ENTERPRISES
 21st CENTURY
 BONDED CHILD LABOUR IN INDIA
 AREAS WHERE CHILD LABOUR IS EXERCISED
 CAUSES OF CHILD LABOUR
 CONSEQUENCES OF CHILD LABOUR
 SOLUTIONS TO CHILD LABOUR PROBLEMS
 HOW CAN CHILD LABOR BE REDUCED OR
COMPLETELY ERADICATED?
 CHILD LABOUR LAWS IN INDIA
 INITIATIVES AGAINST CHILD LABOUR
 NON GOVERNMENT ORGANISATION 12 CONCLUSION
CHILD LABOUR

INTRODUCTION
Work that deprives them of their childhood, interfaces
with their ability to attend regular school, and is mentally,
physically, socially, or morally dangerous and harmful
comes under child labor. Legislatures across the world
prohibit child labor as a predominant feature in Indian
Society. The 2011 National census of India found the total
number of child laborers, aged 5-14 to be 435 million ,
and the total child population to be 259.64 million in that
age group. The 2011 national Census of India found the
total number of child laborers aged 5-14 to be 4.35
million, and the total child population to be 259.64 million
in that age group. As per the child labor prohibition and
regulation Act, 1986, amended in 2016 a 'child' is defined
as any person below the age of 14 and the CLPR Act
prohibits employment of a child in any employment
including as domestic help. It is a cognizable criminal
offense to employ a child for any work
DEFINITION
The term 'child labor suggests ILd is best defined as work
that deprives children of their childhood, their potential,
and their dignity, and that is harmful to physical and
mental development . It refers to work whose schedule
interferes with their ability to attend regular school or
work that affects in any manner their ability to focus
during the war. India's Census 2001office defines child
labor as the participation of childless that is 17 years of
age in any economically productive activity with or
without compensation, wages, or profit. Such
participation could be physical or mental or both. This
work includes part-time work on the frame, family
enterprise, or in any other economic activity such as
cultivation and milk production for sale or domestic
consumption.

INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION
During the 'Industrial Revolution', children, as young as
four, were employed in production factories with
dangerous and often fatal working conditions. The use of
children as laborers is now considered by wealthy
countries a human rights violation, and is outlawed with
some poorer countries may allow or tolerate child labor
HOUSEHOLD ENTERPRISES
The Home based manufacturing across the United States
and Europe employed children in tedious work poverty
and misery were common factors responsible for the
situation.
21st CENTURY
Child Labor is still common in many parts of the world.
Estimates for child labor vary of ranges from250 from 304
million if children aged 5 227 involved in any economic
activity are counted and light occasional work is excluded
ILO estimated three were 153 million child laborers aged
5-14 worldwide in 2008 Bonded Child Labor is a system of
forced, labor under which the child or child's parents
agree, oral or written, with a creditor. The child performs
work as in-kind repayment of credit. In in1977, India
passed legislation that prohibits solicitation or use of
bonded labor by anyone or anyone including children.
Evidence of continuing bonded child labor continues.
According to a TLO report, the extent of bonded child
labor is difficult to determine, but estimates from various
social activist groups range up to 3, 50,000 in 2001.
AREAS WHERE CHILD LABOUR IS EXERCISED
Diamond Industry
Fireworks manufacture
Silk manufacture
Carpet weaving
Domestic labor
Mining
CAUSES OF CHILD LABOUR
Child labor is caused by seven factors. Some of them
include
POVERTY
Children who come from poor families may be forced to
work to support their siblings and parents or supplement
the household income when expenses are more than the
parent's earnings. It is a huge problem, especially in
developing countries where parents are unable to
generate income due to the lack of employment
opportunities or education children can be found
employed in mines or hawking In the streets to earn
money.
LOW ASPIRATION
Low aspiration by parents and children is a major cause
of child labor because in such a situation, being employed
in local factory or selling groceries in the streets is the
normal way of life.
HUGE DEMAND FOR UNSKILLED LABOUR
Children are mostly unskilled and provide a cheap source
of labor, making them an attractive option for many
greedy employers. Child labor increases the margin of
profits for such entrepreneurs whose only objective is
profit maximization even if it comes at the expense of
ethics and good business practices. these types of
employers can also force children to work under
unfavorable conditions through manipulations
ILLITERACY
A society with many educated people understands the
importance of going to school and pursuing dreams.
Children have the ability and time to become whatever
they aspire to be. Illiteracy, on the other hand, makes it
difficult for many people to understand the importance of
education. Illiterate people view education as a preserve
of the privilege in the society.
EARLY MARRIAGES
Marrying at an early age is a major contributing factor to
overpopulation. Young parents can have a lot of children
because they remain fertile for a long time. Having many
children with little or no resources to support them leads
to child labor, older children are forced to work to help
their parents support the family.
HIGH COST OF EDUCATION
Quality education is expensive. For too many parents who
live in abject poverty, priority is given to providing food
for the family because education is too expensive to
afford especially when there are many children to pay
school fees for. Instead of letting children stay at home
because there is a lack of many to send them to school,
parents opt to have them work as unskilled laborers to
help support the family.
OVERPOPULATION
There are limited resources and more mouths to feed.
Children are employed in various forms of work. As the
population is increasing, people are finding it difficult to
search for jobs. So, the people on or below the poverty
line find it difficult to have suitable job that is why they
encourage their children to work.
URBANISATION
MNCs and export industries in the developing world
employ child workers, particularly in garment industries
because it helps in reducing the cost of products which
leads to more demand.
ORPHANS

Children born out of wedlock, children with no parents,

and relatives often do not find anyone to support them.
Thus they are forced to work for survival.
WILLINGNESS TO EXPLOIT CHILDREN
Even if a family is very poor , the incidence of child labor
will be very low unless people are willing to exploit these
children Employment often justify the use of children by
claiming that a child’s small hands are vital for the
production of certain products such as hand- knotted
carpets and delegated glass-war ,although for this is
limited .
UNEMPLOYMENT OF HOLDERS
Elders often find it difficult to get jobs. These industrialists
and factory owners find it perfect to employ children, this
is so because they can pay less and extract more work.
They will not create any union problems also because
they are not able to form unions at an early age.
CONSEQUENCES OF CHILD LABOUR
Child labor has several negative impacts. Some of them
include
LOSS OF QUALITY CHILDHOOD
Human beings need to enjoy every stage of their
development. A child should play with friends and make
memories for a lifetime. Youths should explore life and
form strong foundations that could define their adult
lives. Child labor, therefore, leads to the loss of quality
childhood as children will be deprived of the opportunity
to enjoy the amazing experiences that come with being
young.
HEALTH ISSUES
Child labor can also lead to health complications due to
under nourishment and poor working conditions. It is
highly unlikely that people who employ children also have
the moral capacity to ensure that they have good working
conditions, working in places such as mines and badly
conditioned factories may result in lifetime health issues
for children employed working in these places.
MENTAL TRAUMA
Issues such as bullying, sexual exploitation, and
unfavorable working hours may result in mental trauma
in these children. They will find it hard to forget because
societal misfit because of bad childhood experiences.
Child Labor may also result in a lack of emotional growth
and thus Insensitivity.
ILLITERACY
Children that are employed do not have the time to go to
school. They spend a lot of time in their workstations as
the days and years go by. the lack of education and
illiteracy makes them Individuals with limited
opportunities as far as employment is concerned.
GROWTH EFFICIENCY
It is prevalent among working children who end to be
shorter and weaker than other children these deficiencies
also Impact their adult life.
HIV/AIDS AND OTHER SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED
DISEASES
These diseases are widespread, among the one million
children forced into prostitution every year pregnancy,
drug addiction, and mental illness are also common
among prostitutes.
EXHAUSTION AND MALNUTRITION
It is a result of underdeveloped children performing heavy
manual labor, working long hours SOLUTIONS TO CHILD
LABOUR PROBLEMS adequately.
STOP CHILD SERVITUDE
How can child labor be reduced or completely eradicated?
Every child born has the right to have dreams and pursue
those dreams. Even though the realization of some of
these aspirations may be limited by several challenges, it
is still possible to overcome them and achieve the highest
levels of success. There is a need to involve various
stakeholders to realize this objective. These are some of
how the problem of child labor can be addressed.
Free Education
It is the key to eliminating child labor. Parents that do not
have money for school fees can use this as an
opportunity to provide their children with an education. It
is already proven to be a success in many places around
the globe and with more effort, the cases of child labor
will be greatly reduced.
MORAL POLISHING

Child labor should not be entertained at all it is legally

and morally wrong. Children should not be allowed to
provide labor at the expense of getting an education and
enjoying their childhood.
Factory owners, shopkeepers, and Industries among
others should not employ children. Society should be
educated on the negative Impacts of child labor so that it
becomes an issue that is frowned upon whenever it
occurs. This type of morale polishing would act as a
deterrent to people who intend to employ children and
use them as a source of cheap labor.
CREATE DEMAND FOR SKILLED AND TRAINED
WORKERS
Due to this, child labor cases will reduce since almost all
child laborers fall under the unskilled worker category. It
will lead to adult employment as the demand for skilled
labor rises establishing skill-based learning centers,
vocational training centers, and technical training
institutes Improves literacy and contributes to the
availability of skilled and trained workers in the job
market.
AWARENESS
Parents should be made aware that sending their children
to work has legal ramifications and the law would take its
cause if they are found to be aiding and abetting this
vice. It is the Ignorance among many parents and
members of society that makes them participate in child
labor practices. Conducting a campaign to create
awareness about its harmful effects would eliminate the
practice.
EMPOWERMENT OF THE POOR PEOPLE
Empowering poor people through knowledge and Income-
generating projects would go a long way in parents is also
a must to ensure that the rights of labor.

The constitution of India in the Fundamental Rights and

the Directive Principles of state policy prohibits child labor
below the age of 14 years in any factory or mine or
engagement in any other hazardous employment. the
constitution also envisioned that India shall be 1960,
provide infrastructure and resources for free and
compulsory education to all children of the age 6-14
years. India has a federal form of government so child
labor is a matter on which both the central government
and state governments can legislate. The major national
legislative developments include the following
THE FACTORIES ACT OF 1948
The act prohibits the employment of children below the
age of 14 years in any factory. The act also provided rules
on who, when, and how long pre-adults aged 15-18 years
can be employed in any factory.
THE MINES ACT OF 1952
It prohibits the employment of children below 18 years of
age in a mine.
THE CHILD LABOURACT OF 1986

This law prohibits the employment of children below the

age of 14 years in hazardous occupations as identified by
the law. This list was expanded in 2006 and again in 2008
THE JUVENILE JUSTICE OF CHILDREN ACT OF 2000
This law made it a crime punishable with a prison term,
for anyone to procure or employ a child in any hazardous
employment or a bondage.
THE RIGHTS OF CHILDREN TO FREE AND
COMPULSORY EDUCATION ACT OF 2009
This law mandates free and compulsory education for all
children aged 6-14 years. This legislation also mandated
that 25% of seats in every private school must be
allocated for children from disadvantaged groups and
physically challenged children.
INITIATIVES AGAINST CHILD LABOUR
India has all along followed a proactive policy on the
matter of tackling the problem of child labor India has
always stood for constitutional and statutory
development measures required for eliminating child
labor, the Indian constitution has consciously
incorporated provisions to secure compulsory universal
elementary education as well as labor protection for child
labor commissions in India have gone into problems of
child labor. The constitution of India also provides certain
rights to children and prohibits child labor.
In 1979, the Indian government formed the
Gurupadswamy Committee to find out about child labor
and the means to tackle it
The Child Labor Prohibition and Regulation Act was
enacted based on the recommendations of the
committee in 1986.
A national policy on child labor was formulated in 1987 to
focus on the reliability of children working in hazardous
occupations
The ministry of labor and Employment had implemented
around 100 industry-specific national Child
Labor Projects to rehabilitate child workers since 1988.
The child labor prohibition and Regulation Act is a piece
of legislation that prohibits the engagement of children in
certain employment and regulates the conditions of work
for children. the national policy in child labor seeks to
adopt a sequential approach with a focus on the
rehabilitation of children working in hazardous
occupations and processes in the first Instance.
The ministry of labor and employment functions to
provide and supervise a range of policies concerning child
labor in India.
NGOs such as Care India, Child Rights, and You, Global
march against child labor have been implemented to
combat child labor through education and accessibility to
resources.

Many NGOs like Bachpan Andolan, CARE INDIA, Child

Rights and You, Global March against child labor,
Rideindia, etc. have been working to eradicate child labor
in India. Pratham is India's largest Non- government not
organization with the mission 'Energy Child in school and
learning well. Starting in 1994 Pratham has aimed to
reduce child labor and offer school to children
Irrespective of their gender, religion, and social
background. It has introduced low-cost education models
that are sustainable and reproducible. In 2005, Pratham
was involved in coordinating a child labor rescue
operation with India's Ministry of labor and police, when
around 500 children were rescued from zari's sweatshops
In New Delhi. The problem of child labor in India is so
huge that it depends on support and contribution from
every part of society to completely eradicate this
problem. In recent times, government have taken some
concrete steps for Improving the situation of child
laborers. Providing free education, encouraging parents
to send their kids to schools with awareness campaigns
and allocation of funds towards child health and
development, etc. are some of the steps taken by the
state. among the UN organizations, UNICEF has remained
instrumental in initiating several steps against child labor.
UNICEF has been well supported by civil society
organizations and NGOs are working t improve the
situation in this field. These, NGOs focus on different
problems concerning child labor let's have a look at some
of the top NGOs dealing with the menace of child labor.
World Vision India, New Delhi
 Concerned about working Against Child labor, New
Delhi
 Child Rights and You (CRY), Mumbai
 CREDA (Centre for Rural Education and Development
Action), Uttar Pradesh
 CARE India, New Delhi
We cannot undermine the huge role played by NGOs in
handling child labor issues. Specific NGO's focus on
certain areas of improvement for Instance, If Action Aid
India Concentrates on child Education and on- street and
working children then CRY target underprivileged children
who don't have basic resources to sustain themselves.
NGOs are resources to sustain themselves. NGOs are
carrying out child development activities all over India.
Some children educational NGOs engage themselves in
offering free education to poor kids they teach children
living in slums. Quite a few NGQ’s focus is on girl’s
education. It has been witnessed that girls are made to
work whereas the boy child is allowed to study but that
needs to be charged. So community organizations seek to
improve the quality of life of socially disadvantaged girls
with the sheep of health, education, and social
mobilization, NGOs are helping street children in different
parts of the country.
CONCLUSION
Child labor is not just an affront to the rights of a child but
also a symbol of a society that has lost its way.
We should therefore all strive to ensure that the
fundamental rights of children are protected and that
they are accorded the opportunity to go after their
dreams and aspirations. The future is much bright with
the younger generation having a good foundation for
success. The state of Education in India also needs to be
improved. High literacy and dropout rates are reflective
of the Inadequacy of the educational system. Poverty
plays a role in the ineffectiveness of the educational
system. Dropout rates are high because children are
forced to work to support their families. The attitudes of
the people also contribute to the lack of environment
parents feel that work develops skills that can be used to
earn an Income, while education does not help in this
matter. Compulsory education may be helpful regarding
these attitudes. The examples of Sri Lanka and Kerala
show that compulsory education has worked in these
areas. Poverty is addressed the need for child labor will
automatically diminish. No matter how hard India tries,
child labor always will exist until the need for it is
removed. The development of India as a nation is being
hampered by Child labor. Children are growing up
illiterate because they have been working and not
attending school. A cycle of poverty is formed and the
need for child labor is reborn after every generation.
India’s need to address the situation by tackling the
underlying causes of child labor through governmental
policies and the enforcement of these policies. Only then
will India succeed In the fight against child Labor. The
Innocence of a child should never be taken away to make
the lives of adults easier, it is both unfair and morally
unacceptable.