Combating Child Labour through Education and Training in the North West Frontier Province (N.W.F.P)
| Time-frame |
Donor(s) |
Phase II
Duration: 5 years
Starting date: September 2002
Ending date: November 2007
Phase III
Duration: 3 years
Starting date: January 2009
Ending date: December 2011
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Swiss Agency for Development &
Cooperation (SDC)
DANIDA
SDC |
Based in Peshawar in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) in Pakistan, this project successfully combines removal from hazardous work through rehabilitation and skills training for adolescents, with prevention of child labour through the mobilization of teachers and development of curriculum in primary schools. The project currently covers four districts of the NWFP — Peshawar, Nowshera, Charsadda, and Mardan. The project is well placed to develop effective strategies to combat child labour. It combines governmental agencies, employers' and workers organization and non-governmental organizations to work collaboratively. The project is contributing towards:
- training for skilled manpower;
- raising basic educational levels for former child labourers;
- increasing participation and retention of children in schools, particularly girls, during the basic education cycle; and
- providing a more appropriate educational environment for the various levels age of affected children.
Phase I
In the first phase, a step-by-step strategy was developed in which working children first joined rehabilitation centres (RCs). At the RCs, they were either provided skills training or mainstreamed into the educational system. Following a positive evaluation of the first phase, the project was expanded from five to 30 RCs (increasing the target group from 720 to 2,500). The following components were added:
- community involvement in managing the RCs;
- providing healthcare facilities for working and formerly working children, and conducting studies on occupational safety and health risks;
- training counsellors in vocational guidance and career advice; preventive health and personal hygiene, and sexual, physical and drug abuse;
- linking skills training more closely to the local labour market by conducting surveys on skills needed and offering access to apprenticeships after skills training;
- providing alternative income programmes for families, especially mothers;
- mobilizing parents and communities through parent teacher associations (PTAs);
- mobilizing policy makers, law enforcement agencies and social partners; and
- focusing in particular on gender issues by ensuring that 50 per cent in each of the target group is female.
Phase II
The project model has generated the interest of donors. DANIDA (Danish International Development
Agency) has approved funding for the expansion of project activities to district Swat and lower district.
During Phase II, which ran until June 2004, the project successfully achieved the following targets:
- 31 RCs, enrolling 2,285 children, were established;
- teachers' training manual for RC teachers was developed and 80 teachers trained in teaching methodologies;
- training standards for pre-vocational and vocational training were developed and implemented in auto engine repair, tailoring and dress making, furniture making, and domestic electric wiring;
- a total of 532 children received pre-vocational and vocational training at the Government Technical Training Centre;
- a database on the target group of the project was developed to monitor the children's progress and keep track of the children;
- a manual on child labour laws was developed to sensitize the law enforcement agencies;
- manuals on basic health, as well as on occupational safety and health, were developed for working children and their employers; and
- the concept of evening classes for working children in the formal education system was approved by the Directorate of Schools and Literacy, GoNWFP, Peshawar.
Phase III
Phase III, of the project seeks to consolidate the scope of the project in N.W.F.P. and expand the project scope by supporting the Swiss Development Corporation Child Rights Programme.
In this phase, the project will concentrate on the following focal areas:
- strengthening the child labour unit in the Ministry of Labour;
- development of a child labour monitoring and referral system;
- development of operational plans for improving child labour outcomes; and
- mobilizing policy makers, law enforcement agencies, trade unions and employers organizations and associations.
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