By Suvendrini Kakuchi
COLOMBO, Jun 12 2008 (IPS)

Sujit is 22-years-old and studying hard to graduate in 2010 as a professional electrician. The handsome young man, speaking at a workshop on eliminating child labour, talked proudly of how his life changed dramatically when he was given the opportunity to enter an electrical course and re-start his life again.

Sujit (he uses only his first name) is a shining example of success for child experts, government officials and activists in Sri Lanka who are joining hands to mark Jun. 12, International Day Against Child Labour – launched by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) in 2002 – as a platform to highlight the global extent of child labour and focus new attention on action to eliminate it.

The boy who once sold fish and carried parcels for a small grocery store to make ends meet for himself and his aunt, now stands at the threshold of a new life thanks to opportunities extended to him by a church-funded non- governmental organisation. “I would like to eventually work abroad to be able to improve my skills and also to earn enough to look after my aunt,” he explained, happily.

Sujit is among some 200 boys who have been trained to be electricians, welders and other skilled labour at the Diyagala Boys Town Projects, one of three similar institutions set up by Christian priests.

The focus is on an alternative education for children who have missed out on schooling due to poverty.

“Rather than insist on sending them to school where they have to start from scratch to get an education, our project is aimed at teaching skills and this has worked well,” said Brother Rajapakse, who runs the project.

And the emphasis on providing an informal education leading to jobs has the blessings of parents or guardians of children from low-income families who had no qualms in sending their children to work to bring an extra income much needed by the family.

Recent ILO data indicates that there are 165 million child labourers worldwide between the ages of 5 and 14 of which 74 million are exposed to hazardous work. International data on education enrolment shows that 72 million children of primary school age are not in school, with girls cited as being even less likely to be in school than boys.

Within the Asian region, Sri Lanka, where schooling is compulsory up to 14 years, has creditable achievements in aspects of education such as school enrolment, literacy and gender equity.

But there are grave challenges facing the country.

Angela Wijesinghe, general secretary of the All Ceylon Union of Teachers says Sri Lanka – faced with a rising cost of living, and inflation over 25 percent – – has be vigilant and work harder against child labour.

“With increasing poverty, child labour in Sri Lanka is fast becoming a survival option for many rural families,” said Wijesinghe, pointing out that the government has already closed 644 small public schools with less than 150 students across the island to cut education costs, thus adding to the problem.

Several factors characterise child labour in Sri Lanka. Hiranthi Wijesinghe, former head of the Child Protection Unit, says child labour is a hidden issue here.

“Unlike most other South Asian countries where children are employed in visible industries such as carpet making, in Sri Lanka the challenges are different,” she said. According to the Child Activity Survey complied by the Department of Census and Statistics in 1999, 21 percent of children are employed in some sort of economic activity including as domestic labour.

They work in the construction industry, as domestics, as unpaid hands on agricultural fields, or are forced into begging. Out of 50 percent of working children who did not go to school or an educational institution, 66 percent were boys and 34 percent were girls.

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