It is generally believed that schooling is an antidote to the problem of exploitation of children. Yet there are life-worlds where children's work cannot be equated with child labour, and school and work need not clash. In the context of universalising elementary education, where children from diverse socio-cultural milieus are being drawn into the ambit of schooling, it is imperative to rethink received notions on this issue. Triggered by a study of government schools in Andhra Pradesh, this paper reviews the literature and argues that there is a dominance of middle-class, white, male urban childhood as the ‘norm’ in developmental psychology, education, welfare policy and legislation for children, influencing not only expert opinions, but also cultural practices and attitudes. It then goes on to presenting other life-worlds which bring out diversity in childhood, challenge the notion of the school as a benign space and the role of global political and economic and international welfare forces in perpetuating myths on childhood as well as the exploitation of children.

It is argued that the perception of existing inequality within the field of school education gave rise to the language of rights, but that normative notions of childhood underpinning educational discourses have not been sufficiently problematised. The paper makes a case for productive convergence between the discourses of quality and inequality by drawing on the observations from a study of government schools in Andhra Pradesh. Specifically, the paper foregrounds the need for reflecting on the tacit agreement that exists within the education system about bracketing off questions of socio-cultural inequality when discussing issues of quality and learning goals on the one hand, and the compartmentalisation of the language of rights on the other hand such that adequate attention has not yet been paid to questions of educational quality.

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This chapter provides an overview of the issues involved in ensuring education for working children in India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Nepal. The manner in which children's educational rights, as articulated in the UNCRC, are operationalized within specific policy frameworks in these countries is examined in the light of discussions on child rights and Southern childhoods. We point out that notwithstanding the introduction of many policies and measures at the national and international levels, the conception as well as the provision of education is yet to make meaningful connections with the lifeworlds and aspirations of working children. We argue that there is a need to re-vision the schooling system in order to evolve ways and means of offering education that is inclusive and relevant for working children in South Asia.

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