The World Conference on Education

11 Pages 2711 Words

lities in their workplaces, but how exactly are these extra costs to be paid, and what will motivate that payment?

Where children, parents, employers and Governments all feel they get some benefit from the existing practice and see no attractive alternatives, they will ignore and circumvent efforts to change the child labour situation. Attempts have been made to provide better alternatives for children, but they have consistently collapsed under the burden of their costs. How is it possible to break out of this dilemma? Historically, compulsory schooling and the control of child labour in developed countries have been motivated by two major considerations: organized labour found it advantageous to remove children from the labour pool so that adult wages would be higher; and the building of skill levels or "human capital" through education increased individuals' earning capacities. Schooling was an investment, something seen by both Governments and parents as worth doing because there would be a payoff later.

What can developing countries ...