The Impact of Child Labour on Primary School Children’s Access to and Participation in Basic Education in Tanzania

Abstract

Education for all individuals plays a major role in their
development and of society at large; thus, it is both a basic social need to
strive for and a factor for rapid and sustainable economic development. An
increasing level of education for the population at large plays an important
role in helping society break out of poverty, yet, how far do working
children benefit from the right to basic education? This paper discusses the
impact of child labour on children’s access to basic education in Tanzania. It
examines how education delivery impacts the roles and conditions of
school-going children. The study’s population consisted of primary school
children in two districts in the Iringa Region (one urban and one rural), who
were randomly selected, following an examination of their school
attendance registers who showed a 50 percent of absenteeism. This mixed-methods                                                                                                         study used interviews and focus group discussions to collect
information. The main reasons that force children to work to meet their
basic needs such as food and health care were found to be poverty and
orphanhood. Bread-earning activities compel children to regularly miss
attendance at school, and they eventually drop out, so their right to
educational opportunities and future development is denied.