The Concerned for Working Children

Karnataka, India

A presentation during the symposium

"Child Labor & the Globalizing Economy: Lessons from Asia/Pacific Countries"

Stanford University, California

February 7 – 9, 2001

• Learning is fundamental and inseparable from engagement in the world.

• Knowledge is integrated in the life of communities; learning is how people gain membership and participation in community.

• Learning is an act of membership; motivation in learning lies in the intimate relation between the desire for participation and the role of new knowledge in enabling that participation.

• Knowing depends on engagement in practice, only in the classroom is knowledge presented in the abstract.

• Engagement is inseparable from empowerment.

• Failure to learn is the result of exclusion from participation; people denied membership with the right to contribute in the creation of meaning cannot sufficiently engage to learn easily.

• Inappropriate locations

• Unsuitable timings

• Alien calendar

• Unsuitable time-table

• Unfamiliar language

• Irrelevant curriculum

• Single point entry

• Non availability of support systems such as Anganawadis and Balawadis

• Inaccessibility to basic facilities such as fuel, fodder and water

• Schooling does not guarantee viable employment

• Gender discrimination

• Caste discrimination

• Learning environment not enabling

• Teaching methods not appropriate

• Evaluation systems do not take the overall development of the child1 into consideration

• CWC works with all children who are marginalized – with a special emphasis on working children in any given area

• CWC works in both urban and rural contexts in the three geographical regions of Karnataka

• The choice of the program areas are determined by socio, economic and political reasons

• Our vision

• Our objectives

• By solving basic causes

• By Empowering children through strength, information and resources - to become agents of change

• By enabling Children’s participation, protagonism and involvement in governance for sustainable Child cantered development

• This is done within two essential frame works - children’s development and children’s rights

• The formal syllabus
• The development syllabus
• The empowerment syllabus
• The professional(vocational)syllabus

• The formal syllabus:

• General education that enables children to sit for the 7^th or 10^th standard exams
• Learning of the scientific concepts contained within the formal syllabus up to the 10^th standard
• Special coaching to enable the children to sit for the formal exams

• The development syllabus:

• Developmental milestones of children

• The personhood of children
• Gender sensitivity
• Sex education and information on reproduction
• Health education
• Nutrition
• Environmental education
• Yoga
• Physical education
• Oral history
• Cultural forms and creative expression
• Gardening
• Life skills such as cooking, sewing, minor electrical repairs and first aid

• Children’s rights
• The convention on the Rights of the Child and other related conventions and legislation
• An analysis and understanding of social and political structures
• Organizations and movements and their uses
• Access, analysis and use of information
• Resource management
• Crisis and conflict management
• Strategic planning
• Sustainability

• The professional (vocational) syllabus:

• Access and processing of raw material
• Design
• Production processes
• Marketing – Namma Angadi
• Skills for setting up a micro-enterprise
• Credit
• Management skills
• Apprenticeship
• Follow up

1. by making education relevant

• The AEP emphasis on basic concepts. All lessons are taught in ways children are able to relate them to their own experiences.
• Members of the community including master crafts-persons participate in this program as resource persons.
• Periodic meetings are held with State level, District level and Taluk level government officials to discuss the appropriate education method and its implications.
• Children are exposed to work situations as a part of their education curriculum.
• The lessons are built on the experiences, skills and knowledge which children already have.
• Extra-curricular activities are built into the school syllabus and do not take place after school hours giving all children the opportunity to take part in these.
• Life skills such as health and sex education and gender sensitization are built into the curriculum.
• Vocational training is introduced in the class room syllabus after class Vlll
• Life skills are included in the syllabus from class l
• Opportunities are provided to children to discuss their specific problems at the Makkala Panchayats and Task Force so that they may be addressed.
• The learning material developed for AEP is easy to translate into different languages and several languages may be incorporated in the material for one classroom. This helps children living in border areas whose mother tongue may be other than the official language.
• This material can also be tailor made for special learning groups, such as children with Dyslexia.
• We have been able to expand the learning material to include information that would empower girls and other disadvantaged groups. It is even possible to include information on sensitive subjects such as AIDS etc. into the classroom.
• Material had been designed to enable tribal, marginalized children and girls to understand and participate in democratic processes. Relate their learning to their own experiences and integrate their culture into the learning process giving them a pride in their origins.
• This method enables the education system to build a healthy relationship with the minority and tribal communities and motivate them to send their children to school.
• This method respects local languages even in the school.

1. by making education accessible

• Elected members of the Panchayat are also members of the Task Forces, which are set up in all Panchayats. They are actively involved in monitoring the functioning of the schools. When teachers have to take on responsibilities for activities like census, the Panchayat members send volunteers who assist teachers to complete their task quickly.
• In some cases where schools/class rooms are not adequate, local funds are mobilized to supplement government’s funds to build them. In other cases classes are held outdoors.
• Space is created for children to learn during their free time

1. by making learning an enabling experience

• The Appropriate Education methodology is a learning method, which provides children an opportunity to learn at their own pace, according to their abilities and their developmental milestones.
• It provides children an opportunity to learn by experiencing and innovation.
• This method is inspired by the Montessori method that has a sound pedagogy rooted in India and in democratic principles.

• The teachers speak for short duration. More time is set aside for children to express their opinions and to seek answers to their questions on their own.
• Here homework is not imposed. Children are encouraged to reflect about their class work if they wish to do so.
• The progress of children is evaluated on a daily basis. Examinations are designed in such a way that children take part in the examinations with pride and enjoyment.
• Schools are provided with adequate learning material, which have been created along with teachers.
• The environment in classroom is such that teachers can easily handle multi-class situations and children of mixed age group.
• The appropriate education method is exciting and interactive. It enables children to participate actively in the classrooms.
• Learning material that empower children are designed and introduced in the curriculum on subjects such as health, nutrition, gender and life skills.
• It is easy for children to spot mistakes they have made, as there is an error control included in the material. This assists the teacher to spot children with learning difficulties easily.

1. by releasing children from compulsions which force them into harmful work situations

• In collaboration with the Task Force, attempts are made to reduce the work burden of these children. For example, making the anganwadis full time and setting up extension anganwadis where there is no provision to have an anganwadi so that older children are released from the responsibility of taking care of their younger siblings; introducing fuel saving – smokeless choolas and ensuring water supply in the Panchayats so that children spend less time to collect fuel and water.
• In case of children who have been kept away from school due to work for a long period of time (for example during planting and harvesting) this method allows children to return to school and carry on learning from where they left off.
• Adult members of these communities are provided with vocational training, an opportunity to form cooperatives and to try out replacement (replacing harmful industries such as Beedi with safe industries such as umbrella manufacture) industries of that the economic situation of the entire community improves. This reduces some of the pressure on children to work.
• Awareness is generated in the community about the importance of quality education for their children.
• As soon as the news of a child1 dropping our of school is received, members of the Task Force hold discussions with the child1, the teachers and the family members to find ways of resolving the problem.
• Teachers discuss cases of children dropping out of school at the Task Force meetings and seek their support to get the child1 back to school.
• If the child1 is very reluctant to reenter the formal school, he/she is encouraged to attend the extension school for the time being. Over a period of time the child1 may start attending the formal school if he/she so desires.
• Extension Schools, which enable children to learn at times convenient to them, are in place. These give children a chance to earn as well as learn.
• The extension schools follow the same curriculum as the formal school.
• Extension schools have the recognition of the State Government. So children who attend the extension school are registered in the formal school and can take part in the examinations at the formal school.
• It is possible for children to move from the extension school to the formal school if their situation improves.
• Children are organized and mobilized to form Sanghas. The aim of these Sanghas is to work for a ‘child1 labor free situation’. In many cases where there has been exploitation in the work situation, the Sanghas take up the issue and sought justice to improve conditions and free children from exploitative situations.
• In each Panchayat, the Makkala Panchayat and Sanghas define work that is good and bad for children. Once that is done all efforts are made to declare the Panchayats ‘child1 labor free’. Balkur Panchayat in Udupi District has been declared as child1 labour free in December 1999.
• In case children and adults are involved in any sector, which is hazardous, safe industries have been introduced as replacement industries.
• Makkala Panchayats in each of these Panchayats have selected one/two adults in their Panchayats as ‘Makkala Mitras’ (Children’s friend) who will protect and assist them in times of crisis.
• In cases where children have problems about accession school, Makkala Panchayats and the Sanghas identify the specific problems. These are presented to the Task Force. Following this, the Task Force prepares action plans to address the problems. For example, the construction of a footbridge in one Panchayat made it possible for 40 children to start attending school.
• In some instance, the Task Force has provided children books, uniforms etc. so that children may continue schooling.