KATHMANDU, FEBRUARY 4
The government has served more time to interested local levels to submit proposals to claim their eligibility to be declared 'child labour free zone'.
According to a notice published on the website of the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration, the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security issued notice regarding extension of the period for submission of the proposals by another 35 days, beginning December 31.
An official at MoFAGA said the period was extended after sufficient proposals were not received as most of the local governments were focused on curbing the COVID-19 pandemic during the previous 35- day deadline served on 24 December 2020.
The Child Labour Elimination and Occupational Safety Section at the MoLESS yesterday wrote to the MoFAGA, requesting the latter to facilitate for soliciting and collecting proposals within the extended deadline from the local units.
The local levels willing to be declared child labour free zone should submit their proposal with necessary documents to the MoLESS in line with the Procedure for Declaration of Local Level as Child Labour Free Zone, 2020.
The official said only 25 meritorious local levels from among the proponents would be declared child labour free zone for the running fiscal 2020-21 as prescribed by medium-term expenditure framework of the National Planning Commission.
The procedure requires the local levels to focus their campaign on child labourers being used in private homes, agriculture and animal husbandry, drug smuggling, weaving, brick kilns, mines, entertainment sector including sexual exploitation, transport, garment, trafficking, street vending, herbs collection, physical infrastructure, hotels and restaurants, among others.
The procedure has stipulated a provision of seven indicators on the basis of which a local level may be declared a child labour free zone. The indicators include updated data and documentation, separate policy regarding elimination of child labour, operation of programmes for elimination of child labour, allocation of budget for the programmes, institutional arrangements, educational status of children, and provision of cooperation, coordination and collaboration.
As per the procedure, the concerned local level shall conduct a survey based on the indicators to ascertain if it is eligible to be declared a child labour free zone. The MoLESS shall evaluate the survey results before allowing the local level to declare itself a child labour free zone on the basis of the proposal submitted by them.
Enrolment of school-age children should be at least 95 per cent in the concerned local level to be declared it a child labour free zone.
A version of this article appears in the print on February 5, 2021, of The Himalayan Times.
