Published Paper Details:

The scholastic and developmental outcomes of children from laboring households are greatly impacted by child labor, which is still a serious problem in the brick kiln business. The lack of access to high-quality education for children of brick kiln workers sometimes leads to serious reading deficiencies and long-term educational disparity. This conceptual paper investigates the "work-literacy divide," a phrase used to characterize the difference in literacy and basic educational attainment between children who work and their classmates who do not work and who attend school regularly. The paper summarizes the results of previous studies on child labor, with a focus on the brick kiln industries, where children are frequently made to work long hours in unfavorable conditions. The demands of labor further disadvantage these already vulnerable children by limiting their capacity to participate in school, participate in learning activities, and attain age-appropriate literacy levels. Consequently, there is a growing literacy divide between children who work and those who attend school on a regular basis, which feeds the cycle of poverty and marginalization from education. Economic pressures on families, the need for children's labor to support household income, poor access to schools near brick kiln sites, and inconsistent school attendance are important factors contributing to the work-literacy divide. The negative impacts of extended work hours on children's cognitive growth, emotional stability, and chances for the future are also covered in the paper. The paper suggests various policy actions aimed at narrowing the educational gap as a solution to these issues. These include the implementation of tougher child labor regulations to safeguard children's right to an education, the creation of mobile schools close to places of employment, and conditional financial transfers to encourage families to place a higher priority on education than working. These initiatives seek to establish a more equitable education system that gives all kids, regardless of employment status, the chance to become literate, acquire new skills, and break free from the cycle of poverty by tackling the financial and educational obstacles that brick kiln workers' children must overcome.