Abstract:
Education is the key element in the prevention of child labour, at the same time child
labour is one of the main obstacles of education at the basic level. Child labour has
assumed alarming proportion the world over and most especially in the developing
world. Literature indicates that child labour is the main obstacle of human resource
development which is a necessary ingredient of national development. Understanding
the interplay between education and child labour will help to eliminate it and improve
on school enrolment. According to the Ghana Child Labour Survey carried out in
2001, half of the rural and about one fifth of the urban children was economically
active. The study examined child labour and its effects on child education in Bonia
Community in the Kassena Nankana Municipality. The quantitative approach method
was used in the study because of its relevance in contemporary developmental issues
like the child labour. The study relied on data gathered from the primary data from the
field to do the analysis. The results of the study indicate Child labour is considered as
a normal practice and indeed healthy to the proper upbringing of the child. Children
working on family farms and with family enterprises are seen as part of the process by
which they are trained towards adulthood. The reasons given by the heads of
households surveyed for allowing their children to work were categorized into four
and they are as follows; to support family income (38.1%), as a form of child training
(41.3%), to support child education 7.7%) and to help in household enterprises
(12.9%). The results of the survey show that all children in ages 5- 17 years of
households surveyed in the study area at least do household chores. In all, most of
them apart from household chores also work to assist their parents in their enterprises
and on the farms especially during rainy season. International NGOs such as
CAMFED and FAWE are in the study area sensitizing girls on their rights including
their right to education. The activities of these NGOs according to some of the
beneficiaries have impacted positively on their education since they no longer depend
on their parents for school fees and uniforms. There are no specific programmes by
the municipal assemblies to fight the child labour problem though the officials admit
child labour exist in their municipality. The study made a number of
recommendations including the following; improving the local economy, tackling the
broader socio-cultural and economic situation of farmers, increasing access, quality
and relevance of education, motivating teachers to give their best, embarking on
family planning campaigns, extension of social amenities to the area and making and
enforcing laws on child labour. With the knowledge of what pertains on the ground
about child labour would help to improve education if these suggestions are factored
into the plans for the area.
Description:
A dissertation in the Department of Social Science Education, Faculty of Social Science Education, submitted to the School of Graduate Studies in partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the award of the degree of Master of Education
(Social Studies) in the University of Education, Winneba
OCTOBER, 2022