Domestic child labour worsens in Mulanje

BY WATIPASO MZUNGU JNR

Domestic child labour, poverty and early marriages are contributing to the rising number for girls dropping out of school in Mulanje, a local non-governmental organization operating in the district said Saturday.

Project officer of Link Community Development (LCD) Ogah Nanthambwe said in an interview that despite government intervention to end child labour in all tea estates, which were deemed the most culpable, the problem seems to be far from being over.

Nanthambwe explained that parents with girl-children have now replaced child labour in estates with baby sitting, which has seen over 90 percent of girls dropping out of school before reaching Standard 6.

“Mulanje is a child labour-free zone, thanks to government intervention. But there is a new form of child labour being perpetrated by children’s own parents, which is babysitting,” Nanthambwe explained.

“We have some schools where you would find only three girls in a class because some have dropped out. This is very worrying, especially at a time when government is trying to promote girls education,” he said.

He disclosed that almost all parents working in tea estates entrust the responsibility of tending to babies to a girl child, which result into perpetual absence leading to actual dropping out.

“Even on market day, parents leave their small babies with their daughters. Many girls have left school because of this problem,” he said.

On poverty and early marriages, Nanthambwe disclosed that some parents tend to force their under-aged daughters into marriage as one way of solving their [families’] financial problems.

In his remarks at the prize presentation of Zonal Sanitation and Hygiene trophy at Chambe TDC, District Education Manager (DEM) Gossam Mafuta appealed to teachers and parents to encourage their children to go to school.

“Education is key to any meaningful development. Please, give your sons and daughters ample time to attend classes; don’t all children to work while their friends are in school,” said Mafuta.

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