CNI News
7 August 2023
The State Administration Council should create a good education system for child labors, said human rights groups.
The SAC should create an education system for poor children, children who lives by asking people for money or food and children and children who have to sell goods, Lway Chi Sangar, secretary of the Ta,ang Human Rights Network to CNI News.
"An accessible education system for the children like that should be introduced. Some people open self-supporting schools. Others, monastic education schools. But not every child can go to these schools. The Education like this can be provided the children working at workplaces or selling goods on streets. Many children have lost their their rights including education. At the time, a child must be learning, he can't.S0, If the authorities can create monastic schools or the schools like the self-supporting schools or charity schools that are accessible to the children like this, it's more convenient." he said.
Children learning their lessons
The children who earn money by begging had increased double than before in Myanmar mainly because of the economic crisis, said Ko Phyo, founder of the Yay Gyan Zin Charity educating children with a self-supporting system to CNI News.
" That the children like this become more is mainly because the country's economy is declining. We are proud of ourselves to teach them. We founded the Yay Gyan Zin Charity with a sense of responsibility for the society. At first, we were worried that they were afraid of learning and didn't dare come to us. But in practice, they want to learn so much. They tend to be waiting for us who will teach them. We started a streetside class with four or five children. But as there are so many children who want to learn, the number of children is about 180 children now." he said.
Children have lost their rights because of their parents' request or demand and their employers' demand and the country's economic crisis. The government was responsible for the people's economic security, said U Myat Tun, director of Arakan Human Rights Protection and Promotion Organization to CNI News.
Children learning their lessons
" It's mainly related to parents. If the parents demanded their child to be a beggar, they would violate the convention on the rights of the child (CRC). Some employers ask the children under age. And there are children serving in the military, which violate the CRC. Social welfare organizations should perform to make children behave well and reach on the right track. It depends on the government as well.Now the country is in chaos. Commodity prices are going up.The price of rice also is high. All the prices are going up." The parents can eat a day if only they can work a day. The livelihood is not convenient. So, they have to ask their children to beg. It is mainly related to the government. The government is responsible for the people's livelihood. We want the government to solve the problem" he said.
The children begging on buses and streets are found and also in the retail and wholesale markets in Yangon Region. And The children selling flowers on streets, ones selling purified drinking water, ones collecting garbage are found most in Hlain Thaya, Shwe Pyi Thar, Kamayut and Dala townships, said philanthropists.
There are over one million children at the age of 5 to 17 who are working in Myanmar, said ILO, adding that parents have to be depending on their children because of crises in politics, economy, social and education.
