– says Minister Scott in observance of World Day Against Child Labour

AS the Ministry of Social Protection strives to stamp out child labour in Guyana, Minister within the Ministry, Keith Scott, has stressed that children need to be in school instead of working to provide for their families.

Scores of children, members of the Guyana Police Force and staffers from the ministry marched on Wednesday morning from the Ministry of Social Protection’s office on Cornhill Street, Georgetown to D’Urban Park.

The march was held in observance of World Day Against Child Labour which was commemorated on June 12.

“When you’re young, that’s the time to play. Therefore, you must know that anybody who seeks to deprive you of that is guilty of not only taking away your innocence, but making you a victim of underdevelopment,” Minister Scott told the children assembled at D’Urban Park.

He said engaging in child labour denies them the chance to develop their skills and can result in them becoming physically stunted or mentally disabled.

“Work is for adults,” he stressed even as he noted that many young people are forced to work because of poverty.

“Poverty is one of the reasons why child labour will flourish. Eighty-eight per cent of children engaged in child labour are there because of poverty [and] 13 per cent are because of parents pressuring them to work,” he said.

While child labour denies children their right to education, it may also place them in harm’s way. According to the minister, children are more susceptible to work-related accidents since they are more “enthusiastic” and would not necessarily be cognisant of the perils associated with certain types of work.

While the ministry is currently engaged in measures to develop a national policy against child labour, Scott sought to relate the role youths have to play in ensuring that they do not become trapped in the cycle of child labour.

To this end, he encouraged the youths to develop their skills and suggested they joined clubs. By joining clubs, youths are poised to become “beacons” for Guyana to the rest of the world.

“There’s nothing that you want to be that you can’t be,” Scott said, adding: “You have gotta be given that opportunity not only to play but to get an education.”

“When I was at school, I learned one thing, stay in school as long as possible because, once you begin to work, you have to work for the rest of your lives.
You the youths are the future. I am only here to temporarily remind you that you have the greatest potential,” he said.