The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has in its recommendation for the 11th Plan observed that the word ‘regulation’ should be removed from the title itself and an inclusive definition of child labour should be provided to remove the “artificial distinction between “child labour” and “child work,” NCPCR chairperson Shantha Sinha told Deccan Herald.

It has pointed out that the Labour Ministry has defined “child labour” in the narrow context of children doing “hazardous” work. Thus, under the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986, employment of children below 14 years is prohibited in hazardous occupations and processes.

Though the list of such “hazardous” occupations has been expanded from 25 to 57 in the past five years, this still leaves out of government policies and programmes the millions of children who might be doing home-based work, or engaged in agricultural activities, street children, migrant working children or those caught in commercial sexual exploitation.

New policy as well

The Centre is also likely to consider a new National Child Labour Eradication Policy to replace the one formulated in 1987.

The National Child Labour Programme (NCLP) has also been severely criticised by experts who had pointed out that the NCLP special schools for children who had been withdrawn from work have so far mainstreamed only 3.75 lakh children.

The NCPCR has recommended that all relevant laws and policies regarding working children should be re-examined and consistency should be ensured in the Constitutional and legal provisions.

It has also urged the Centre to put in place a large, well-trained army of social mobilisers to identify child labour and plan for their rescue, assist in enforcement of laws and enroll the rescued child labour into Transitional Education Centres.

Such centres would aim at preparing former working children for full time formal schools as soon as possible.