Ekta Malhotra- Prevalence of Child Labour

I happened to watch a documentary film titled “Children now”. It depicted the vulnerable condition of the children at their workplace. I was deeply touched to see Pyaari; a small girl aged nine, hiding herself to avoid the owners of the factory. She wanted to enjoy the fun and freedom which is the birth right of every child. It is true about all other working children.

They have to rise in the morning. They have to work day and night in most inhuman and unhygienic conditions. They have to work in dim light. They are hardly provided any nutrious food. They are physically tortured, and some times sexually abused. They are usually employed to work in homes, restrauants and factories.


According to UNICEF,there are an estimated 250 million children aged 5 to 14 in child labour worldwide, excluding child domestic labour. Though the government has passed laws, child labor continues and, whether we like it or not, it will continue. As long as there is want and poverty, people living below poverty line will continue to seek employment for their children to supplement their children to supplement their family income. We should rather try to improve their working conditions. It should be made mandatory not to employ children below 14 years.

There should be vigilance on the wages paid to them. A high-level committee should be constituted to deliberate on the issue of child labor.

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The author is an executive member of the webteam for www.developmentchannel.org

Sharon Ann Philip- The Great Indian Quality Crunch

It’s the mother of all paradoxes plaguing India’s corporate sector today . Our nation has 40 million unemployed people but still there’s a huge talent crunch which is making our knowledge pool look ‘less knowledgeable ‘ than it should be . The problem is immense skill shortage.

Let me first make you familiar with the facts . Our universities churn out 3.6 million graduates every year of whom only 0.9 million are employable . According to the India Science Report, science graduates form 63% of the unemployed graduates .73 million factory workers are required by 2015 , which is 50% more than current figures . Of the 4.5 lakh graduates produced by our 1, 400 engineering colleges ; only 40,000 encompass world class talent and not to forget , there will be a shortage of 500,000 knowledge workers by 2010 .

Having said that , graduate unemployment is on the rise because our university education does not meet employment objectives like language fluency and essential job skills to tackle a competitive environment . The elite of premier institutions like the IITs and IIMs are not enough .Thousands from lesser known institutes need to rise to the forefront and steer growth . The bottlenecks for the same are outdated curriculums in higher education, equally outdated infrastructure and a glaring need for well – qualified faculties .

Some of the solutions to bridge the gap could be increase of job oriented programmes . Companies or factories could seriously consider tie – ups with institutes or vocational educators to offer the required diploma / training . Financial incentives for colleges introducing vocational courses has been advocated by experts too . Universities can offer teachers increased remuneration or sponsor their plans for higher education. Quality should be made directly proportional to the work force at hand . We are a young nation so we can never afford to forget polishing these rough diamonds so that our nation can emerge as a powerhouse , well equipped for the future .

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The Author is I yr BA Programme Student and a Member of the Webteam of DevelopmentChannel.org