Reevaluating the relationship between education and child labour using the capabilities approach: Policy and implications for inequality in Cambodia

Abstract

Cambodia has experienced rapid economic growth in the last two decades, improving living standards and diminishing poverty. Unfortunately, it has failed to do so evenly. Growth within the country has widened the gap between rich and poor and exacerbated the rural/urban divide. This inequality is mirrored in the school system. Inequality within the school system is, in large part, due to the persistence of child labour in rural and remote areas. Yet, child labour is not simply a symptom of poverty in Cambodia, but more a lack of opportunity, which suggests that education may have an important role to play as a solution. This article considers the relationship between child labour and education in Cambodia. Using the Human Development and Capabilities Approach, it draws attention to the intrinsic and instrumental values offered by the quality of Cambodia's basic education system and how they affect families' decisions when choosing between educating their children or having them work as child labourers. Approaching solutions to child labour based on the premise that child labour is caused by a lack of opportunity or capability formation within education, rather than simply treating child labour as a symptom of poverty, allows for careful consideration of policy solutions, their effectiveness and the implications for inequality within the school system and wider society.

Spillover Trends of Child Labor During the Coronavirus Crisis- an Unnoticed Wake-Up Call

“…Of note, children lacking access to technology and the internet, will be unable to join in the online remote learning during the school closures. Kluttz (16) suggests that child labor is not simply an indicator of poverty, it is also a consequence of poor access to education. Even when schools re-open, many parents or guardian may no longer be able to afford to continue to pay for their child's schooling.…”

Educational inclusion in resource-constrained contexts: a study of rural primary schools in Cambodia

“…Large sections of the educated class, including teachers, were killed (Kalyanpur 2011). Since then, the education system has been slowly re-established, but largely in urban areas creating a 'stark' rural/urban divide (Kluttz 2015).…”

“…Whilst it might be expected that the Cambodia Ministry for Education Departments of Special Education and Teacher Training would be responsible for providing training on inclusive education to all practitioners all Cambodian schools, feedback suggests that such training had not been accessed by the teachers in our study. Perhaps this reflects the paucity of investment in remote rural schools acknowledged in the literature (Kluttz 2015).…”

“…Unfortunately, they disproportinately affect children with disabilities and their school attendance, but have an impact on all children. Many of these barriers reflect a lack of infrastructure that is typical across remote, rural provinces of Cambodia (Kluttz 2015).…”

Development through vocational education. The lived experiences of young people at a vocational education, training restaurant in Siem Reap, Cambodia

“…Schools are also sparsely distributed in rural areas and difficult to access. Furthermore, there is little incentive for poor people to pursue education for long term economic benefit, because of a lack of confidence in the system, and, marginal differences in monthly earnings between workers with primary, lower, upper secondary education ( ADB & ILO, 2015 ; Kluttz, 2015 ) or vocational education ( ADB, 2018 ). This broad social and historical context points to present gaps in education and training that have potential to be redressed with funded vocational education training in Cambodia.…”