Tag Archives: child labour

Fayose Suspends 16 Teachers For Child Labour

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Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose has suspended 16 teachers at Elo High School, Ayetoro Ekiti, for allegedly using their pupils as labourers on their farms during school hours.

He has also ordered a full-scale investigation into the matter.

Fayose gave the directive in Ado Ekiti while receiving the report of a team led by the Deputy Governor, Dr Kolapo Olusola, that went to the school for a preliminary investigation.

According to a statement on Sunday by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Idowu Adelusi, the governor took the action following complaints from parents that their children were being made by some of their teachers to work on their farms during school hours.

The statement read partly, “Some of the affected students, who were brought to the Government House, Ado Ekiti, said under the guise of doing practical agriculture, their teachers took them to their private farms at least twice a week during official hours to work for at least 30 minutes.

“One of them, Oluyeye Femi, a JSS 3 pupil, said though the school has a farm where pupils are expected to work once a week, some teachers capitalise on that to take them to their private farms to weed and make heaps.

“A member of the National Youth Service Corps posted to the school, Miss Giredana Enogha, said when she got to the school last June, the situation was like a farm settlement. She added that the pupils were not encouraged to do any other thing than to go to farm all day.”

The governor, who was angered by the report, ordered at least 80 per cent of the teachers be transferred from the school.

He said, “This is sheer slavery. The teachers mentioned must be suspended immediately. The principal, who just got there two months ago, is exempted.

“But the former principal, who has been posted to somewhere in Ilasa Ekiti, must be investigated as well. Those that have taught in the school since 2012 must be investigated.

“Any teacher who uses pupils as farm workers will have himself to blame. That is slavery and I will tackle it. Pupils are taken to farms under the guise of doing agricultural practical. Those indicted will not go unpunished. This is not nice and it is uncalled for.”

Credit: Punch

China To Replace One-Child Policy With Two-Child Policy

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China will officially end its longstanding one-child policy and allow couples to have two children, state media reported.
The policy was first implemented in 1980 as a means of curbing the country’s rapidly growing population. Chinese families who disobey the policy can be subject to large fines.
China first announced changes to the law in 2013, allowing couples to have two children if one of the parents was an only child. Activists have campaigned against the policy in recent years amid fears that country’s aging population will leave huge gaps in the workforce.
China has not said when the new policy will go into effect.
Human rights groups have also opposed the policy over allegations that it has led to forced birth
control and abortions. The phenomenon was highlighted last month after a Chinese newspaper reported that one woman was being pressured into having an abortion when eight months pregnant her second child.
According to 2013 data, over 330 million abortions had been performed in China since the measures began. The government outlawed coerced abortions in 2002 but, as the Australian Broadcasting Corporation notes, it hasn’t taken significant steps to enforce it.
Other chief critics of the policy point to the large numbers of Chinese children who are abandoned by their parents — as many as 10,000 a year, according to Reuters. In one of the more dramatic cases, a newborn was rescued in August after reportedly being found in a toilet.
At least 600,000 children live in orphanages, according to state data. Those figures have disproportionally included girls and children with disabilities, CNN and Reuters report.

<span class='image-component__caption' itemprop=A young Chinese orphaned girl is bathed by a worker at a foster care center on April 2, 2014 in Beijing, China. China's orphanages and foster homes used to be filled with healthy girls, reflecting the country's one-child policy and its preference for sons. Now the vast majority of orphans are sick or disabled." data-pin-no-hover="true">  
 
Kevin Frayer via Getty Images A young Chinese orphaned girl is bathed by a worker at a foster care center on April 2, 2014 in Beijing, China. China’s orphanages and foster homes used to be filled with healthy girls, reflecting the country’s one-child policy and its preference for sons. Now the vast majority of orphans are sick or disabled.

According to 2013 data, over 330 million abortions had been performed in China since the measures began. The government outlawed coerced abortions in 2002 but, as the Australian Broadcasting Corporation notes, it hasn’t taken significant steps to enforce it.
Other chief critics of the policy point to the large numbers of Chinese children who are abandoned by their parents — as many as 10,000 a year, according to Reuters. In one of the more dramatic cases, a newborn was rescued in August after reportedly being found in a toilet.
At least 600,000 children live in orphanages, according to state data. Those figures have disproportionally included girls and children with disabilities, CNN and Reuters report.

Source: HuffPost