Main sections National Legislation and Policies Against Child Labour in Pakistan IPEC Action in Pakistan Other Initiatives Against Child Labour in Pakistan Download full text - PDF 159 KB See also Information Resources Pakistan

Combating Child Labour through Education and Training in the North West Frontier Province (Phase II)

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 both governmental and non-governmental organizations to work in harmony for the cause. The project is contributing towards:

• Production of skilled manpower;
• Raising basic educational levels for an intelligent citizenship;
• Increasing participation and retention of children in schools, particularly girls, during the basic education cycle;
• Providing a more acceptable educational environment for the age range of affected children.

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) and 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 careers 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;
• Focusing in particular on gender issues by ensuring that 50 per cent in each of the target groups is female.

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, have been established;
• Teachers' training manual for RC teachers has been developed and 80 teachers trained in teaching methodologies;
• Training standards for pre-vocational and vocational training have been developed and implemented in auto engine repair, tailoring and dress making, furniture making, and domestic electric wiring;
• A total of 532 children have received pre-vocational and vocational training at the Government Technical Training Centre;
• A database on the target group of the project has been developed to monitor the children's progress and keep track of the children;
• A manual on child labour laws has been developed to sensitize the law enforcement agencies;
• Manuals on basic health, as well as on occupational safety and health, have been developed for working children and their employers;
• The concept of evening classes for working children in the formal education system has been approved by the Directorate of Schools and Literacy, GoNWFP, Peshawar.