CHILD LABOUR AND THE IMPORTANCE OF AVAILABILITY OF EDUCATION & HEALTH SERVICES IN RURAL LOWER AND UPPER EGYPT

Document Type : Review Article

Authors

1 Institute of Environmental Studies and Research, Ain Shams University

2 Cairo Demographic Center

Abstract

of the countries that have the same economic and social conditions, and according to results of  the last and recent  Labour Survey conducted by the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) in collaboration with the International Labour Organization (ILO) with the sample 20 thousands households) in 2010, the number of working children in the age group ( 5-17 years) is about 1.6 million and the increasing number of these working children in  rural areas  is clearly ( 83.8 % ) than in  urban areas  (16.2%).
This study aimed to identify the phenomenon of child labour and its relationship to the availability and quality of education and health services in both rural Upper and Lower Egypt.
The study asked what causes the phenomenon of child labour, the importance of the availability of education and health services with child labour, what perception proposed to solve the problem of child labour?
The assumptions are there is a relationship between child labour and the economic situation of the household, there is a relationship between child labour and the availability and quality of educational services, and there is a relationship between child labour and the availability of health services.
Child Labour is a person who is aged ( 7-17 ) years ' male or female , carries on the activity contributing to the production regularly full-time  or part-time.
Random sample of 409 households was conducted in rural of both the Lower and Upper Egypt. One child was selected from each household (311 working children and 98 children does not work). Some other surveys are used such as Income, Expenditure & Consumption Household Survey, Child Labour Survey conducted by CAPMAS and other administrative sources (Statistical Yearbook issued by the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health and Population).
The results of the field study confirmed what has been concluded by the previous studies in identifying poverty as the essential reason to the spread of child labour. The region which registered the highest poverty rate is characterized by the highest rate of child labour,
There is relationship between child labour and the level of educational services as measured by density class and the teacher's share of pupils and this is shown in rural areas more than urban. The region, which is characterized by high employment rates for children, is characterized with not good educational services; Dropping out of education is an important reason for increasing child labour, so regions characterized by high dropping out of education rates are also characterized by high child labour rates
Child labour supposed to accompany the availability of health services, but the administrative data did not show this relationship, for example Upper Egypt is characterized by highest employment rate of the children and less of the availability of health services as measured by the rate of hospital beds and the rate of medical doctors per ten thousand of the population. For the field study, the data showed  that the high rates of child labour are  in places which are close to places of treatment and this confirms how important  to work in these  places .
 

Main Subjects