A Study of Child Labour Among School Children and Related Factors in Pondicherry

What is the prevalence of child labour among school children in urban area of Pondicherry? What are the factors related to its prevalence.

1. To assess the percentage of child labourers among school children in Pondicherry and study the factors related to it. 2. To compare their academic performance in school with that of other children.

Cross-sectional.

Four schools within urban area of Pondicherry.

Students of Government schools studying in classes from 5th to 9th during the academic year 2001-02.

1305.

Age, Sex, class of study, type of work, Hours of work per day, weekly income, reason for working, attendance and total marks obtained in the previous academic year.

Chi-square test, proportions.

One hundred and fifty students per 1000 students were engaged in work outside school hours. Girls start working earlier than boys. They also work for longer hours than boys. A quarter of the students especially boys work for more than 10 hours per day. Most girls work as domestic servants at homes. Percentage of attendance in not affected much upto class 8, but a drastic fall is noticed among students of class 9. The ratio of below average students among those working is only slightly higher than among the non-working students