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 2022.
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 2022.
"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have since 2008 withdrawn 32,663 child laborers from their workplaces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 2022.
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.***4***
(T.A014/f001 ) |
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar