Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2023, published 112nd ILC session (2024)

Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) - Kenya (Ratification: 2001)

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Articles 3(d) and 4 of the Convention. Hazardous work. Following its previous comments, the Committee notes the Government’s information, in its report, that the Directorate of Criminal Investigations takes the lead in investigating cases related to offences under sections 12(3) and 24(e) of the Employment (General) Rules, 2014, which together with the fourth schedule, prohibit 45 types of hazardous work to children under the age of 18 years. According to the report of the Directorate of Children Services, in 2021–22, there were 519 reported child labour cases (involving 349 boys and 270 girls). The Committee observes, however, that there is no information as to whether these cases relate to the engagement of children under 18 years in hazardous types of work. The Committee requests the Government to provide more specific information on the application in practice of section 12(3) and 24(e) of the Employment (General) Rules of 2014, including the nature of violations reported and the type of work performed, as well as the penalties imposed.

Article 7(2). Effective and time-bound measures. Clauses (a) and (c). Preventing the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour and ensuring access to free basic education for all children removed from the worst forms of child labour. Following its previous comments, the Committee notes the Government’s indication that it continues to take measures to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education for all citizens. It indicates, in this regard, that it is has allocated a significant budget to education to implement reforms, such as the Competency Based Curriculum and the 100 per cent transition rate programme from primary to secondary school. As a result, the Government indicates that the enrolment rates in public primary and secondary schools have continued to increase. In particular, the number of students enrolled in public secondary schools has reached 3,587,081, whereas the Committee had previously taken note of the enrolment of 3.3 million children in both public and private secondary schools in 2019. Moreover, the Government indicates that the reported rate of transition to secondary schools attained slightly above 97 per cent in 2019.

The Committee notes, however, that issues with the quality of the education offered appear to remain. According to UNICEF, poor quality teaching and large class sizes still affect the quality of children’s learning, and the pupil-to-teacher ratio remains very high in some counties. Moreover, all children do not have equal access to education. While Kenya has made gains in reaching remote areas and disadvantaged communities at primary and pre-primary levels, high dropout rates in pastoral communities reflect a perceived lack of value of schooling and high rates of child marriage. According to a briefing note on the UNICEF Kenya Country Programme 2022–26, 2.5 million children aged 4–17 are out of school. The Committee therefore strongly encourages the Government to strengthen its efforts to improve the functioning of the educational system, particularly to ensure equal access to quality education to all children at least until the age of 16 and decrease the drop-out rates. It requests the Government to continue to provide information on the measures taken in this regard and the results achieved.

Clause (d). Identifying and reaching out to children at special risk. Children living and working in the streets. In response to the Committee’s concern regarding the significant number of children working on the streets (50,000 to 250,000 children), the Government indicates that it is set to establish a national policy aimed at providing a systematic and sustainable framework for the rehabilitation of street families in Kenya. The Government has also set up the Street Families Rehabilitation Trust Fund, the role of which is to mobilize resources and monitor and facilitate preventive programmes, as well as the rescue, rehabilitation, reintegration of street families. In this regard, the Committee takes due note of the statistics shared by the Government on the achievements of the street families rehabilitation programmes implemented in 2021–22: 4,328 families rescued; 9,201 families provided with support rehabilitation services (psychosocial support, education and training); and 2,322 street persons reintegrated into communities, as well as 247 families given support to ensure the retention of reintegrated persons. The Committee requests the Government to provide specific information on the number of children living and working on the street who have benefited from the measures taken to protect street families in Kenya. It also requests the Government to provide information on the adoption and implementation of the national policy for the rehabilitation of street families in Kenya, and to provide information on the results achieved in terms of number of children living and working in the streets who were removed from the worst forms of child labour and rehabilitated and socially integrated.