To address the need for high-quality basic education, Education Development Center (EDC) and its partner, Research Triangle Institute (RTI), are key players in a program called Time-Bound Program on Eliminating Child Labor in Tanzania, which is funded by the US Department of Labor. EDC and RTI are establishing community learning centers in the 11 Tanzanian districts that have the highest incidence of child labor. 200 Interactive Radio Instruction (IRI) lessons for each of the first four grades will be developed in these centers. IRI is an innovative methodology that uses radio broadcasts that summon the participation of groups of listening students while their activities are facilitated by onsite teachers. The IRI curricula will include Swahili, mathematics, English, science, social studies, essential life skills, and navigating Tanzania's job market. International Labor Organization (ILO) and other NGOs are also identifying children who work, negotiating with employers, and bringing them to the community learning centers for their participation. When children complete the fourth grade, they will be assisted to integrate back into the formal school system or into a vocational program to prepare them for more stable, less dangerous work in the years ahead.
Meeting these specialized educational needs for child laborers, however, requires a multi-prong strategy that involves whole communities. First, EDC and RTI are developing public awareness campaigns that will inform communities about the hazards of child labor, the new educational alternative, and how they can assist with child attendance. In addition, a consultation process is being created that will unite NGOs, schools, local governments, churches, employers, and other public and private organizations to form the institutional support essential to halting the most dangerous forms of child labor and to eventually integrate child laborers back into the formal school system.
Source: © 2007 Education Development Center www.ecd.org
