Masindi parents warned against child labor
He advised parents to take their children back to school, vowing that starting next week they will start arresting children who are out of school.
Masindi: Parents in Masindi district have been warned against involving their children in agricultural and production activities, James Alinda writes.
The call was made recently during the sensitization drive conducted by both the town council and district authorities in Kyatiri Town Council.
Vincent Businge, the Masindi district senior community development officer, stressed that children’s involvement in such activities jeopardizes their future.
He vowed that after the sensitization drive, parents or guardians who involve their children in labor will face arrest and a fine of 40,000 shillings for the release of the children.
Ibrahim Nasur, the town clerk for Kyatiri Town Council, stresses that at Kyatiri Primary School, in the first term, the school registered over 1,800 learners, but the enrolment has drastically dropped to 900, implying almost half of the learners are involved in other activities.
He said that they realized that most children drop out of school and engage in both agricultural and production activities. Nasur said that the town council, through the Elimination of Child Labor in Agriculture (ECLA), in partnership with the International Labour Organization, passed a by-law against child labor.
Nasur advised parents to take their children back to school, vowing that starting next week they will start arresting children who are out of school.
Inspector of Police Patrick Mugenyi, the officer in charge of Kyatiri Police Post, decries that many children are involved in criminal activities such as theft, early pregnancies, and marriages due to early school dropouts.
According to him, such drives accompanied by operations will curb the vices and ensure children are kept in learning institutions for a bright future.
Annette Mbabazi, a trader from Kigumba Town Council, decries increased theft cases, which she attributes to non-school-going children. John Kyomya, a resident of Kyatiri Town Council, attributes cases of school dropouts to parents’ and children’s ignorance.
Geoffrey Baguma, the tenderer of Kyatiri Weekly Market, told our reporter that both the district and town council authorities have never written or instructed them to block or arrest children in the market.
‘’There is no way we can stop these children from coming to the market; if the district or town council authorities officially write to us, we shall stop children from accessing the market.’’
In May this year, Masindi district council approved a child protection by-law that was passed in Bikonzi Sub County and Kyatiri Town Council. During the same council, ECLA and Masindi district signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to eliminate child labor in agriculture.
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