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. Interviews, questionnaires and focus group discussions were used to collect information.  The main reasons that force children to work to meet their needs 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.