Education International Research
The creation of child labour–free zones is an innovative approach that shows promise in making this goal a reality. Child labour–free zones are areas in which communities enact multiple, integrated interventions to end child labour and support every child to attend formal, full time education. Interventions include community mobilisation and sensitisation, lobbying and advocacy, and teacher training and school improvement. Child labour–free zones — using a multi-faceted approach to combat child labour and also guarantee every child’s right education o
Community moblisation and sensitisation
Lobbying and advocacy
Teacher training and school improvment
Education unions establish child labour–free zones with the support of Education International and in partnership with local governments, NGOs, corporations and communities. They are currently under development in ten countries in Africa, Asia and Central America: Burkina Faso, India, Malawi, Mali, Morocco, Nicaragua, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda and Zimbabwe. Case study: Uganda In Uganda, the Uganda National Teachers’ Union (UNATU) has developed a child labour–free zone in the Erussi sub-county (Nebbi District, West Nile sub-region) in collaboration with CEFORD, a local NGO, and the fair-trade coffee company Kyagalanyi, who committed to stop buying coffee from parents whose children did not attend school. By combining community mobilisation and sensitisation, lobbying and advocacy and teacher training, UNATU has secured a substantial increase in the enrolment and retention rates of students in schools in the area. One primary school saw its population increase by over 13%.
Community mobilisation and sensitisation GRO.EI-IE
With the support of local community leaders, UNATU spread awareness about the harm of child labour and the importance of education, and their message reached every member of the community, including children. Highly visible banners were placed on school grounds, advising children and teachers to report abuse and encouraging children to discuss their problems with teachers. Thanks to the project, the community is beginning to reassess the value of education. Parents have joined income saving initiatives to cover school costs, and some villages have launched income-generating activities. Cultural change is being achieved by first sensitising local leaders and teachers to various issues; for example, community-wide initiatives are emerging to tackle early marriage and teenage pregnancy.
Lobbying and advocacy 0302 NOITA CUDE
UNATU lobbied at the national level to call for increased recruitment of women teachers in the area in an effort to provide girls with women role models at school, and they succeeded in ensuring that every school employed at least one woman teacher. Lobbying at the national level also saw the successful introduction of feeding programmes in Erussi schools in 2017–2018. Lobbying continues, with the union calling for improved school facilities such as gender-specific toilets.
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