The Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement will conduct a survey on underage child workers in six townships in Yangon to inform efforts to provide education and health services to out-of-school children, said Minister Dr Win Myat Aye in an Upper House session this week.
He added: “The ministry launched its survey in Sanchaung and Kamayut townships. The six-month pilot project has emerged following the government’s 100-day plan. The move aims to ensure that child workers have access to education, health and vocational training.”
Under the six-month plan, which was devised in response to public opinion, the ministry will reunite children with their families, place orphaned children in training schools and take legal action under the Child Law against parents and guardians who force children to work.
Under the 100-day plan, the ministry drafted a pilot project to bring down the number of street children, beggars and homeless people in Yangon and Mandalay. (According to Eleven, the project also sought to decrease the number of people with disabilities in those cities.)
The ministry will distribute educational leaflets and take legal action against those who manipulate street children, reported Eleven.
The ministry will also help children from underprivileged families attend vocational training courses and seek to create jobs for them, offer them free medical treatment and provide them with income-generating opportunities in cooperation with other ministries.
