RI Pulling Out Child Workers, Sending Them To School

News Focus - RI PULLING OUT CHILD WORKERS, SENDING THEM TO SCHOOL By Andi Abdussalam Jakarta, June 5 (Antara) - The Indonesian government is launching an intensive program to withdraw child workers from their workplaces and send them to school in an effort to free the country from child laborers in 2020. The government carries out the child laborer withdrawal through its Child Labor Elimination Program (PPA) in support of its Family Empowerment Scheme (PKH). "The government is launching a program to withdraw child workers from their workplaces and send them to schools so that they would not be trapped in any worst forms of child labor," Manpower and Transmigration Minister Muhaimin Iskandar said over the weekend. He said the government was resolved to carry out the program intensively so that Indonesia would be freed from child workers in 2020. "The government`s commitment is reflected in its ratification of the International Labour Organization (ILO) Conventions No. 138 on Minimum Age for Admission to Employment and No. 182 On The Worst Forms of Child Labour," the minister said. The government has already ratified the convention through Presidential Regulation No. 59/2002 on withdrawal of child laborers, which instructed provincial and regional administration to take an active part in the national program. "We have since 2008 withdrawn 32,663 child laborers from their workplaces and sent them to schools. We are planning to free 11,000 this year and 14,000 others next year," Muhaimin Iskandar said. Minister Muhaimin expressed his intention to make the withdrawal of children from workplaces a national movement because children were assets and sources of investment for the country`s future. "For this purpose, we cooperate with the local governments, the private sector and other relevant parties to withdraw working children and send them to schools in an effort to protect them from discrimination and exploitation," the minister said. Muhaimin made the remarks when handing over school assistance packages for 1,650 child workers in Central Java at the Semarang Police Academy building. The minister has also previously handed over similar assistance to child workers in Surabaya, East Java. Accompanied by the head of the ministry`s office for East Java, Hari Sugiri, Muhaimin on the occasion handed over school assistance packages for 2,280 children who had been pulled out from their workplaces. The minister said that going to school was the right of children. Therefore, millions of children on the street, with poor families and leaving schools (for having no money) must be assisted and be sent to schools. The minister stressed the importance of education to safeguard the future of the nation and make them intelligent. According to Musliar Kasim, the deputy minister of education and culture for cultural affairs, educators and parents must develop children`s intelligence in four aspects, besides building their skills or expertise. "Educators and parents must be able to build children intelligence in four aspects of spirituality, social, intellectuality and kinesthetic aspect," asserted Musliar Kasim. Msuliar said that spiritual intelligence would make children be well aware of their Creator so that they would develop praiseworthy morality. With social intelligence, children will be aware of the diversity of Indonesia�s ethnic groups so that they would be able to socialize well in society. In the meantime, intellectuality, according to the deputy minister, will help children improve their minds and brains while their kinesthetic aspect will help them perform their physical activities. Therefore, children should be freed from labor and sent to school. According to Manpower Muhaimin, with the Child Labor Elimination Program and the Family Empowerment Scheme, Indonesia is expected to be free from child laborers in 2020. He said that the program to pull out children from their workplaces was coordinately implemented by various government agencies and institutions in provinces and districts/municipalities. In Surabaya for example, a total of 2,280 child laborers are now taking part in the PPA-PKH 2013 programs. They came from 17 district/municipalities in East Java, namely the districts/municipalities of Sampang, Bangkalan, Pamekasan, Sumenep, Malang, Pasuruan, Probolinggo, Lumajang, Jember, Bondowoso, Situbondo, Ngawi, Bojonegoro, Ponorogo, Lamongan, Jombang and Tuban. Head of the Manpower and Transmigration Ministry`s office for East Java Hari Sugiri said that the PPA - PKH officials gave directives to children for about one month before they really returned to schools. "Therefore, the minister of manpower handed over school assistance packages which consisted of writing utensils, books and other needs to prepare child laborers in East Java to return to schools in the 2013 - 2014 academic year," he said. "The constraint faced in the implementation of this program comes from parents who ask their children to work in an effort to help earn a living for the family. Therefore, we are carrying out evaluations on how to make the program run smoothly," he said. Separately, Dede Sadono of the ILO said that his organization had assisted provincial and regional administrations in designing programs to influence child laborers to go back to school. "ILO has launched two programs to withdraw child laborers in Lampung, South Sulawesi, Jakarta and surrounding areas. More than 22,000 child laborers have been netted in the program and most are now enrolled in A, B, or C education programs at junior high schools and tsanawiyahs," the Jakarta Post quoted Dede as saying recently. Dede said that many others have enjoyed free education at junior high schools in their villages. ILO has also forged cooperation with the East Java and South Sulawesi provincial governments, providing them with technical assistance and counseling to design attractive educational programs for child laborers, Dede explained.