Examining Children's Well-Being: Schooling and Child Labor in Nigeria
Open Access
- Author:
- Kazeem, Aramide
- Graduate Program:
- Rural Sociology
- Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy
- Document Type:
- Dissertation
- Date of Defense:
- February 28, 2010
- Committee Members:
- Leif Jensen, Dissertation Advisor/Co-Advisor
Leif Jensen, Committee Chair/Co-Chair
C Shannon Stokes, Committee Chair/Co-Chair
Diane K Mc Laughlin, Committee Member
David Post, Committee Member - Keywords:
- schooling
education
child labor
sub-Saharan Africa
education and Nigeria
Child labor and Nigeria
Education and Child labor and sub-Saharan Africa - Abstract:
- The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, in particular Article 28 of this policy document, speaks to the importance of governments providing all children in their national entities with at least a free primary education. Article 28 also calls for the need for government to increase the regular school attendance and to decrease the school drop out rate of children in their respective countries. A free primary education is considered a right that every child has and it is the obligation of governments to meet this human rights goal. Nigeria, the country of interest in this dissertation, has set out to meet this human rights obligation through its Universal Basic Education (UBE) program, launched in 1999. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child also discusses other issues that are relevant for children’s well-being. One of the subjects of discussion is children’s work. In the document, specifically in Article 32, it is stated that children should not be allowed to participate in any work that interferes with their education, health, and/or development. The premises within Article 32 call for governments to set the minimum age, minimum wage, hours, and conditions under which children can partake in any form of employment/work. Article 15 of the African Charter on the Rights of the Child and Welfare of the Child is framed in line with Article 32 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Conventions 182 and 138 in the policy document written by the International Labor Organization (ILO) also talk about children’s employment/work. Convention 182 states that children must be banned from participating in any work that falls under the worst form of child labor or any work that affects their health, safety, and morals. Convention 138 on the other hand, set the minimum age in which they can begin to work. This dissertation research has two main objectives. First, it investigates the role of gender, urban-rural residence, and household socioeconomic status play in creating inequality within children’s schooling and work activities. It also examines the specific factors within gender, urban-rural residence, and socioeconomic status, which pose an obstacle to children’s schooling and work. The results in chapter five on schooling indicate that girls are the majority of children who have dropped out and who have never attended school. This finding in the Nigerian context is in line with previous research in sub-Saharan Africa that shows an existence of a gender disparity in children’s schooling, which disadvantages girls. Evidence also shows that socioeconomic indicators are very important variables that affect children’s likelihood of dropping out of school or never attending school in the first place. The mother’s education at the incomplete secondary and/or complete secondary and higher education levels greatly increases the likelihood that children will be enrolled in school or has contact with a school. On the other hand, father’s education, especially at the complete secondary and higher level helps to ensure that children complete their schooling. Household wealth, in particular at the richest quintile, also proves to be an important factor by increasing children’s chances of attending school. Evidence shows that socioeconomic indicators are factors that can help to bring more children into school and keep them there. This shows that the household production framework as a theoretical explanation is relevant in the Nigerian case. Other factors which play a role in children’s schooling are distance away from schools, religion, sibling composition, parental attitude towards child labor and gender inequality and region of residence. Gender-specific models revealed that girls face greater obstacles to attending school when secondary schools are not available in their community; in addition, the likelihood of girls remaining in school declines if they reside in a household with infants and toddlers. Socioeconomic status-specific models showed that poor children have a greater risk than non-poor children of becoming a school dropout if secondary schools are not available in their communities. Finally, models estimated separately by rural versus urban residence indicated that in rural areas, males are less likely to become school dropouts than female children. In addition, rural children whose fathers have a complete secondary or higher education (compared to none) have a lower risk of dropping out of school than those whose father have no education. The results of children’s work engagement presented in chapter six depict that the majority of work being carried out among children in Nigeria is done by girls. There also exists an urban-rural and a socioeconomic disparity in children’s work which disadvantages rural and poor children, respectively. Policy efforts to limit children’s work should pay special attention to the work done by girls, rural children, and poor children. The poverty explanation for why children work is relevant in the context of Nigeria. Other important factors for deterring children’s work are mother’s and father’s education, in particular at the complete secondary and higher level. However, living twenty or more minutes from a primary school and/or having parents who are in favor of child labor are factors that increase children’s work engagement. The gender-specific model shows that girls’ work engagement declines as household wealth increases. The residence-specific model indicates the work engagement of rural children decreases when they have mothers who have an incomplete secondary or higher education level. In addition, higher household socioeconomic status is associated with lower prevalence of work among rural children. Any attempt to reduce the work responsibilities of girls and rural children must focus on improving the household income level. The socioeconomic specific model shows that poor children’s work engagement rises when they reside in households with infants and toddlers.