23 mn children of 15-18 yrs working in India: CRY

About 23 million children between 1518 years of age in India are working, of whom 19 million have dropped out of school, according to a study conducted by a leading NGO.

The report by the Child Rights and You (CRY) said about 9.2 million children in the age group of 15-19 years are married and 2.4 million girls in the age group are mothers.

The report, which looks at the status of Indian children between the ages of 15 and 18 years, laid emphasis on the need to reach out to all stakeholders, including legislators, policy makers and decision makers, who deal with children of this age group.

The report also said that about 23 million children between 15-18 years of age in India are working under the protection of the Child Labour Prohibition and Regulation Act that allows 15-18-year-olds to work in ‘non-hazardous’ occupations. But 19 million out of the 23 million children drop out of education due to various factors, including inability to manage both work and education.

On the high dropout rate, the report recommended an amendment in the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education and said that schemes should not be treated as a substitute for extending free education up to higher secondary levels.