UNICEF contribution to the Out-of- school children Initiative (OOSCI)

Child labour and out-of-school children Rationale 68 million children of primary school age and 74 million of lower secondary school age were still out of school in 2008, despite sizeable reductions in the out-of-school population over the past 10 years (UIS Data Centre, October 2010). Furthermore, based on current trends an estimated 56 million children of primary school age will not be in school in 2015 (UNESCO 2010). Participation in pre-primary education, although on the increase, also remains very low (UNESCO 2010). In addition, out-of-school children (OOSC) often face deep-rooted structural inequalities and disparities linked to income-poverty, exposure to child labour, conflict and natural disasters, location (urban or rural area, geographic sub-national regions), gender, HIV and AIDS, disability, ethnicity, language, religion, and caste. These represent major barriers to schooling and put even those countries able to improve access to and completion of education at risk of not achieving universal primary education (UPE). Underlying the problem of OOSC are key data, analysis and policy gaps. More information is needed on profiling children out of school and on the multiple and overlapping forms of exclusion and disparities that affect them. In this regard UNICEF and the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) launched a Global Initiative on Out-of-School Children at the beginning of 2010, involving 25 Countries , to improve statistical information and analysis on OOSC and to scrutinize factors of exclusion from schooling and existing policies related to enhanced participation. Child labour and out-of-school children project In the framework of the Global Out of School Children Initiative, UCW will provide technical guidance to the 25 countries participating in the Global Out of School Children initiative (OOCSI) on the production and analysis of data on child labour and contribution to the global analytical work. In particular, UCW will develop: (i) a set of Child Labour tables for the 25 countries in order to build a statistical profile of child labourers and out-of-school children. Such a profile is an essential starting point for the design of effective policy strategies for achieving the goals of EFA and child labour elimination. The descriptive indicators contained in the profile are designed to provide not only robust estimates of how many child labourers and out-of-school children there are, but also detailed information on who they are, how they overlap, where they live, what they do and the characteristics of the households they belong to; (ii) generic guidance questions for countries on data analysis and technical contribution to the child labour part of the OOSC Conceptual and Methodological Framework; (iii) review of the child labour part of the 25 country studies; and (iv) child labour chapter of the OOSCI Global study.

Project symbol

INT/11/02/CEF

Admin unit

IPEC

Start date

01/07/2011

End date

30/06/2012

Total allocation

85878

Total expenditure

Status

Closed

85878

Development Partners

United Nations Children's Fund

Country/Countries

Global

Outcomes

Child Labour