School project for child workers to be launched today

from The Manila Times

THE Department of Labor and Employment on Thursday announced the launching of a four-year school project for child workers, which highlights the observance of the World Day Against Child Labor.

Labor Secretary Marianito Roque in a statement said the project will be implemented by the government in areas where there is a high incidence of child labor.

“Educating the children while providing their parents with income sources are long-term solution seen to break the bondage of poverty that ties child workers and their families to child labor,” Roque said.

The areas to be covered by the project are Metro Manila, Bulacan, Camarines Norte, Iloilo, Negros Occidental and Oriental, Cebu, Leyte, Davao del Sur and Compostela Valley.

The Labor secretary said the project will be formalized by the government on Friday with the signing of an agreement with the World Vision Development Fund and the Christian Children’s Fund.

The school project is called ABK 2 or Pag-aaral ng mga Bata Para sa Kinabukasan), and TEACH which stands for Take Every Action for Children. It will be support with grants coming from the US Labor Department.

The labor chief said ABK 2 will reducing child workers’ barrier in attending formal schooling.

At the same time, the Labor department will connect parents of beneficiaries to its pro-poor programs that will provide livelihood opportunities.

Fewer children are being drafted into the Philippines labor force, but keeping them in school remains a major challenge, a United Nations official said Thursday.

The number of Filipino children aged between five and 14 who are in the labor force has fallen from 913,000 in 2003 to 774,000 in 2005, said Keiko Niimi, a regional official of the UN’s International Labor Organization.

“Despite all efforts, the fight against child labour remains a challenge,” she said during a ceremony in Manila to mark World Day Against Child Labor.

While the figures signal improvement, Niimi cited troubling Education department data that showed the school participation rate dropping to a seven-year low of 38.22 percent in the 2006-2007 school year.

The poor must often choose whether to educate their children or send them to work to help support the family, she said. In some cases, children attending schools must walk long distances, lack quality instruction and study materials, and often have to study in poor physical facilities.

– Anthony Vargas with AFP