Is a combination of child labour and education an option?
Education is a childs birth right, work the responsibility of adults. Accepting children to work long days in combination with non-formal and part-time education is contributing to the discrimination of these children and a denial of their rights. Alternative education opportunities for working children do not create a norm that child labour is unacceptable and that children should attend formal and full-time education. Offering a combination of education and work leads even more to an adverse effect; it gives a message that child labour and not attending formal education is indeed acceptable. Non-formal and part-time education is a second-hand choice and of inferior level than the average formal school. The rather good name that alternative educational systems sometimes have is a mere consequence of a few relatively good projects of private donor organisations. It is however forgotten that such systems can never replace a well-functioning formal educational system. Moreover alternativ
