June 12 is World Day Against Child Labor

According to the International Labor Organization, there are approximately 218 million child laborers - between the ages 5 and 14 - worldwide. The exhausting and grueling work these children are involved in expose them to lasting psychological and physical danger. Morocco has one of the highest child labor rates in the Middle East and North Africa and is concentrated in the country’s agricultural sector, as well as the carpet, garment, and leather tanning industries.

Key to the prevention of child labor in Morocco and around the world is the alleviation of poverty and illiteracy. The absence of educational opportunities for poorer families, however, makes it difficult, if not impossible, to break the cycle.

To theme of World Day Against Child Labor 2008 is improving access to education - not only a basic human right but a critical building block in the fight against child labor.

A remarkable dropout prevention program initiated by the Syndicat Nationale de l’Enseignement (SNE), the leading teachers union in Morocco, is helping to address the child labor problem and is the focus of a new short documentary video produced by Education International (EI).

Initiated in 2005, the program takes a multifaceted approach to tackling the dropout problem. As seen in EI's video, the results in the five targeted schools in Fez have been startling. Each school has seen significant reductions in the number of dropouts. Schools are cleaner, students are enthusiastic about learning, parents are more committed to their children's education, and teachers are benefiting from new professional development opportunities.

Abdelaziz Mountassir, SNE vice-president, says combating child labor is an important and natural role for teachers unions.

"As educators we fight child labor because it’s our duty to defend the rights of children to learn.”

You can watch the video here.