BANGALORE: Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan's ambitious Metro City project to tackle school dropouts is running into rough weather as some of its components are against the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act and Supreme Court guidelines governing child labour.

The Rs. 4.2-crore project, funded by the Ministry of Human Resource Development, will be implemented from June. It will focus on the rehabilitation of out-of-school children by setting up bridge courses and running distance education programmes and evening schools. The evening schools for working children aged between 6 and 14 will be held every day from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.

It is the evening school component of the project that has members of some non-governmental organisations upset. They say that it runs contrary to the State Government's policy on child labour.

In 2002, the State committed itself to abolishing child labour in both hazardous and non-hazardous sectors through a 15-point action plan. "When the State has set itself on such a course, how can another government agency allow children to work and study," asks Vasudeva Sharma, member of Child Rights Trust, an NGO.

The Supreme Court, in December, issued notice to the Centre and the States seeking enforcement of the right to education of every child in the age group of 6 to 14 by abolishing child labour in all forms.

"The new project is against the Supreme Court guidelines and against child rights. It will make the child labour situation worse," says Mr. Sharma.

A member of the Campaign Against Child Labour says that the project comes at a time when voluntary organisations are working to bring about an amendment to the Child Labour Act to prohibit employment of all children under 14 years of age. "Such a project will defeat all the good work that we have done over the past few years. It is a huge blow to us," she says.

NGO members feel the project will encourage child labour. "Parents will think that the Government is okay with children working and more of them will be out working," says a CACL member.

Mr. Sharma says that if the proposal is implemented, "it gives sanction to everyone who wants to employ children."

`Practical approach'

Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan officials say that by offering evening school for working children, they are trying to ensure that they get some form of education. "We are taking a practical approach to the issue of child labour. Several families need their children to work to keep the house running," says one official.

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