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Momodou
Denmark
11804 Posts |
 Posted - 15 Mar 2010 : 14:49:52
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I was surprised to see school children in uniforms on a saturday doing the cleaning (set setal) on the motoway without any form of protection. Some of them were picking rubish with their bare hands. Thanks for the Editorial team of Foroyaa for taking up this issue.
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Foroyaa Editorial : CHILDREN MOBILISED TO CLEAN THE STREET WITHOUT PROTECTION Is This Not Child Labour?
It was indeed a contrast when the Cameras were put on the Mayor of Banjul and compared to the children who wore no protective gears and were mobilized to take part in the cleansing exercise. The officials had uniforms, socks and shoes which covered their feet, hats to cover their heads and nose guards to prevent infection.
Foroyaa has been complaining of the plight of the Cleansing service workers who are subjected to hazardous working conditions without insurance or free medical care. As if this is not enough now some people have started to mobilize school children to work under the hot burning sun without any form of protection to clean the streets. Section 29 subsection 2 of the Constitution states that:
“Children under the age of 16 years are entitled to be protected from economic exploitation and shall not be employed in or required to perform work that is likely to be hazardous or interfere with their education or be harmful to their health or physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social development.”
The Government should therefore issue an immediate directive for such a practice to cease. One could understand school gardens being introduced to teach children agricultural Science. The transformation of children into cleansing service workers without pay and protection is exploitative and oppressive.
Foroyaa further calls on the education authorities to introduce civic education as part of the curriculum so that the children will be taught their constitutional and legal rights as stipulated in the Children’s Act. Teachers should also be exposed to such provisions in their training so that they would not be conditioned to force children to do things that are not in line with the law.
The Child Protection Alliance, The Youth Parliament and other child right advocacy groups should draw the attention of the policy makers on such violations of the rights of the child and prevent its reoccurrence.
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A clear conscience fears no accusation - proverb from Sierra Leone |
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Momodou
Denmark
11804 Posts |
Posted - 18 Mar 2010 : 18:50:50
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Burning Issues : School Children Doing ‘Set Settal’ Cleansing Exercise
By Abubacarr Saidykhan
18-03-10
On the recent ‘Set Setal’ exercise held on Saturday 13 March, school children from the Lower and Upper Basic Schools in the Kanifing Municipality were mobilized to do the cleansing services away from their school environment around the Westfield, Kairaba Avenue , Serrekunda/Brikama Highway and Churchill Town .
This reporter went round to observe how the school children supplemented the role of the cleansing service of the municipality.
The pupils and students who were putting on their school uniforms came from St. Therese’s Lower Basic, Jeshwang Lower Basic, Latri Kunda Upper Basic and Tallinding Upper Basic Schools. Apart from the school children and personnel of services and security agencies (e.g Police, Immigration, State Guards etc.), no other groups were seen engaged in the cleansing exercise.
The school children were seen scattered around the places mentioned in the presence of their teachers picking waste with their bare hands and piling them in heaps or putting them in bins. They were not putting on gloves or masks to prevent them from inhaling the cloud of dust that the cleaning generates. They carried long and short brooms, cutlasses, hoes and waste bins.
Talking to some pupils from one of the basic cycle schools, name withheld, and this reporter was told that an announcement was made during their school assembly asking those in grades 5 and 6 to join the exercise the following day. They said the two grades were assigned to clean the vicinity of Westfield to Churchill Town. According to them, the pupils were strictly warned that if they failed to turn up they will be severely punished.
Some of them complained about the hot sun and that they were hungry and thirsty. They said no food or water was given to them.
Editor’s Note
Foroyaa will speak to the Mayor, The Head teachers and the Ministry of Basic education to find out whether the exercise is authorized by the Central and Local Government. The exploitation of children and subjecting them to hazardous conditions are unconstitutional.
Source: Foroyaa Online |
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