Poverty and Child Labour on the rise in Balochistan, Pakistan

By

Feroz Khan Jamali

The people and children in one of the biggest population districts of Balochistan are facing two major problems: poverty and child labour.

In Jaffarabad District, children work in bicycle/motorcycle repair shops, brick kilns, garages, chinaki hotels, shoemakers’ shops, petrol pumps, tailoring shops etc. The working conditions are generally poor and the wages are very low. Many child trainees, both boys and girls, receive training in carpet training centers at Usta Mohammad and Dera Allah Yar. They also receive formal education occasionally during their training).

Child labor is widespread in the district due to incidences of high poverty. The artisans, including carpenters, blacksmiths, mechanics, barbers and tailors, hire children and adolescents as apprentices. Children are also engaged in brick making. Boys aged 8 to 16 are employed on a full time basis in most commercial establishments found in the district.

Education in Jaffarabad District is better in comparison with other districts but cannot be rated as good. Access indicators of the district keep it relatively high in this order compared to other districts in Balochistan but the quality indicators are weak. The district suffers from multiple issues in the backdrop of poverty and cultural constraints.

The education sector in the district comprises of public and private schools with varying quality. A total of 572 schools are operated by the public sector which comprise of primary, middle, high and high secondary schools. Eighty six percent of these schools are in rural areas and 8% in urban areas. Rural urban public sector schools are broken down on the basis of level of education. People are using the schools as a store room or guest house, the local administration being totally corrupt and taking no action.

Feroz Khan Jamali is from Islamabad, Pakistan.