Child Labour - ends in classrooms?

There has been so much said, written and read about Child Labour. If not the entire mass, at least the educated population of the country is aware of the hapless situation. Of course, the recent incidents are unearthing the facts that it is indeed the educated mass that is actually promoting and exploiting this form of labour. Shameful state!

Though there are labour laws that are supposed to enforce the prohibition of using child labourers, I am not sure we have a fool-proof solution for the problem. Yes, institutions employing child labour are busted and the children are rescued. What next? Children are apparently sent to schools to start / continue their education.

So, are we to infer that the solution actually provided for their progress is ever debatable Macaulay education? These children did not relinquish their education for no reason. They would rather like to see Gandhian notes than the ruled note books. The Government might want to draw my attention to schemes like mid day meal scheme etc but food is not the only expense for any individual. Probably, even free healthcare can be thought about.

Anyway, my thoughts were mainly about the education being provided as the solution currently. It’s my personal belief that Macaulay education that is being prevalent in most of our educational institutions does not actually serve the purpose of rendering individuals employable. More than unemployment, its unemployability that seems to be the root cause of the unemployment problem of Indian mass at large. And recommending this kind of education to these children will not effectively provide any succour to survive the day to day battle of their lives.

How about investing heavily in vocational training centers then? How about introducing schemes like “You learn, you produce and we pay”, probably in the form of stipends? Even psychologically, these kids would be different from the regular school-bus kids. They may not entirely adapt to classroom environment. Their restlessness will prove to be so much of a distraction to handle. I am not very sure we are actually doing any good to these kids by enrolling them in such educational institutions. And my vote goes to vocational training center in such situation. How about yours?