The Regional Coordinator of Tackling Child Labour through Education (TACHLE), Ogasawara Minoru has highlighted the four main results of the TACKLE project which include, strengthening of the country’s legal framework and institutional capacity leading to an improved ability to formulate and implement child labour strategies. He added that it also designs and implement targeted actions to combat child labour and improve advocacy and dissemination of good practices to enhance the knowledge base and networks on child labour and education.
The Regional Coordinator made this disclosure at a one day stakeholders workshop held on Tuesday at the Hill Valley Hotel Freetown, which attracted stakeholders from the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Social Welfare, Gender and Children’s affairs, Ministry of Employment, The International Rescue Committee, UNICEF, Councilors of the Freetown City Council, Members of the Media among others.
Minoru said that one of the outputs of the county plan is to revise and assess the existing legal framework in view of facilitating the legislative process that could lead to an elaboration of a legal framework that is in accordance with the International Labour Organisation Conventions 138 and 182, to harmonizing education and labour legislations, implement and enforce machinery that helps ensure effective implementation systems and measures that focus on child labour monitoring.
The Regional Coordinator explained that another output is to strengthen the capacity to develop the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, to develop curriculum and educational methodologies in both formal and informal sector, to play an effective role in developing strategies on child labour, to operationalise and enforce new legislation and to integrate child labour and education in relevant national plans, He added that the country plan also spoke about strengthened central statistics office in order to ensure that information on child labour is collected as part of a national education data collection efforts, and also building the capacity of key social partners to enable them play a part at the level of national dialogue. He also noted that output also put emphasis on formal education and training interventions aiming at withdrawing children from child labour, preventing children from entering child labour. He also spoke about non formal education programmes developed for out of school children involved in child labour, also target older children involved in or at risk of being involved in child labour. He added that the programme developed should meet the needs of disadvantaged children.
Minoru also talked about the need for sensitization of communities to send their children to school and the legal framework of child labour, partner with all stakeholders, and encouragement of sports and other recreational activities. He emphasized the review and harmonization of labour laws and the ratification of ILO Conventions 138 and 182, to develop and enact an employment policy, and conduct survey to establish child labour prevalence in Sierra Leone among others.
In his Statement, Senior Labour Inspector in the Ministry of Employment, Labour and Social Security, Herbert Smith explained that the TACKLE Project aims to eliminate child Labour particularly in its worst forms by 2015, which he noted is in line with the Global Action Plan on Child Labour. “The Project’s initiation emphasis is to eliminate child labour in the sectors where it is present (agriculture and mining), as well in the urban informal sector, and create the means enabling Sierra Leone to meet the 2015 deadline” he said.
He mentioned that the main objectives of the project are to build the capacities of local authorities and social partners to plan and implement measures to eliminate child labour, and advocate towards the line ministries and priority sectors, to ensure that skill training and education benefits disadvantaged children, especially those affected by the country’s conflict and those orphaned by HIV/AIDS.
He added that the project also structures and strengthens national ownership over issues through an effective national tripartite steering committee.
Smith explained further that on successful implementation of the above mentioned objectives of the project, they would have the following indicators, institutional framework to deal with child labour, ratification of ILO Convention 138 and 182 that set minimum age of employment and worst form of child labour, have child labour laws enforcement mechanisms, integration of Child labour concerns into national development framework such as Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper 11, UNDAF and EFA, among others.
By Saidu Bah
The Regional Coordinator made this disclosure at a one day stakeholders workshop held on Tuesday at the Hill Valley Hotel Freetown, which attracted stakeholders from the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Social Welfare, Gender and Children’s affairs, Ministry of Employment, The International Rescue Committee, UNICEF, Councilors of the Freetown City Council, Members of the Media among others.
Minoru said that one of the outputs of the county plan is to revise and assess the existing legal framework in view of facilitating the legislative process that could lead to an elaboration of a legal framework that is in accordance with the International Labour Organisation Conventions 138 and 182, to harmonizing education and labour legislations, implement and enforce machinery that helps ensure effective implementation systems and measures that focus on child labour monitoring.
The Regional Coordinator explained that another output is to strengthen the capacity to develop the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, to develop curriculum and educational methodologies in both formal and informal sector, to play an effective role in developing strategies on child labour, to operationalise and enforce new legislation and to integrate child labour and education in relevant national plans, He added that the country plan also spoke about strengthened central statistics office in order to ensure that information on child labour is collected as part of a national education data collection efforts, and also building the capacity of key social partners to enable them play a part at the level of national dialogue. He also noted that output also put emphasis on formal education and training interventions aiming at withdrawing children from child labour, preventing children from entering child labour. He also spoke about non formal education programmes developed for out of school children involved in child labour, also target older children involved in or at risk of being involved in child labour. He added that the programme developed should meet the needs of disadvantaged children.
Minoru also talked about the need for sensitization of communities to send their children to school and the legal framework of child labour, partner with all stakeholders, and encouragement of sports and other recreational activities. He emphasized the review and harmonization of labour laws and the ratification of ILO Conventions 138 and 182, to develop and enact an employment policy, and conduct survey to establish child labour prevalence in Sierra Leone among others.
In his Statement, Senior Labour Inspector in the Ministry of Employment, Labour and Social Security, Herbert Smith explained that the TACKLE Project aims to eliminate child Labour particularly in its worst forms by 2015, which he noted is in line with the Global Action Plan on Child Labour. “The Project’s initiation emphasis is to eliminate child labour in the sectors where it is present (agriculture and mining), as well in the urban informal sector, and create the means enabling Sierra Leone to meet the 2015 deadline” he said.
He mentioned that the main objectives of the project are to build the capacities of local authorities and social partners to plan and implement measures to eliminate child labour, and advocate towards the line ministries and priority sectors, to ensure that skill training and education benefits disadvantaged children, especially those affected by the country’s conflict and those orphaned by HIV/AIDS.
He added that the project also structures and strengthens national ownership over issues through an effective national tripartite steering committee.
Smith explained further that on successful implementation of the above mentioned objectives of the project, they would have the following indicators, institutional framework to deal with child labour, ratification of ILO Convention 138 and 182 that set minimum age of employment and worst form of child labour, have child labour laws enforcement mechanisms, integration of Child labour concerns into national development framework such as Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper 11, UNDAF and EFA, among others.
By Saidu Bah