Date:04/08/2006 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/08/04/stories/2006080406201203.htm

Opinion - Letters to the Editor

Good news

The Government's decision to ban employment of children in eateries, restaurants, and recreation centres, and as domestic help, is good news for children and NGOs that have struggled to end child labour in the unorganised sector and home-based environment. The ban should be effective. In many places, we see boards displaying `no child labour' but children are employed behind the scenes.

R. Mercy Felcita,

Chennai

In a country where primary schooling is not accessible to all, and poverty reigns supreme in slums and villages, one wonders whether the ban will bring about any change. What we need to concentrate on are access to schooling, cheaper and nutritious food, safer homes where at least one of the parents is there to look after the child, and creation of an environment in which children do not have the burden of supporting their parents with their earnings. Without these safety nets in place, the ban is impractical.

Jeevan Kuruvilla,
Vellore, T.N.