Child Schooling And Child Labour In Rural India: How Does Cost Of Schooling Effect?

The level of education of children in a society is an important indicator of a society’s future development. While the importance of child schooling is widely recognized, in many developing countries child labour still persists. This study carried out an assessment of the determinants of school enrolment and work participation highlighting the schooling cost. After controlling for individual and household level characteristics, income and village effects; the analysis reveals that cost of schooling adversely effects child schooling and child work responds positively with schooling cost in North Indian socio-economic context. Gender difference is dominant in child schooling and also in the time allocation in different domains of work which is mostly explained by household characteristics. The unequal treatment of girls is not only damaging for women empowerment, but also socially undesirable. The result is suggestive for the substitution effect between child schooling and work. Any educational policy alternatives are expected to bring more changes in child work participation over child schooling. At the end, policies that disproportionately affect child schooling or working, could have real effect on children time allocation pattern.