Child Population Shrinking In Nepal

The feudal system in Nepal has encouraged the employment of people from the low income background to live in the households of wealthier families and do domestic chores. Most of the time, these domestic helpers received food and old clothes in return for their work. If lucky, they would also receive a few rupees. After restoration of democracy there have been slight improvements in the conditions of domestic workers and a system of paying better salaries has been introduced, although still not followed strictly. It has now been recognised as a professional job.

The children of poverty-stricken families from the villages still send their children to work in households in urban parts of Nepal. However, their contributions as workers are not recognised. The agreement would usually be that the children would be fed, sent to school, in return for the household chores they would do for the families they lived with. The families of child workers receive salaries on behalf of their children. Some children run away from harsh family conditions and search for work in small businesses in urban areas to earn for their families. 

Children rights

It is a fact that some of these children get to live with families and employers who are kind and feed them well, send them to government schools in their localities and help them with homework. There are few rare examples of such children who are domestic workers being supported by their employing families to get good education and ultimately jobs.  Although there are no statistics to validate these facts, it can be very well assumed that this percentage must be very low. Nevertheless, these children had to toil hard to get their meals and education, which are in fact their basic human rights.

On the other hand, there are ample cases of abuse of children who are domestic workers. Nepal government has several policies of protection of children, including free education in government schools. However, it is very important to monitor how effectively the government policies are implemented and what are the conditions of Nepali children. A report published in an online digital news portal, the maximum number of students enrolled in 83 Community Schools operating in the Kathmandu Metropolitan City is domestic workers. 

According to the population census 2021, Nepal's total population stands at 29,164,578. Of them, the children aged 14 years or below were 27.83 per cent, a marked drop from 34.91 per cent in the 2011 census. This indicates that the number of children in Nepal is declining. Nepal's latest census mentions that the working age population in the 15-59 years age group has grown to 61.96 per cent in 2021 from 56.96 per cent in 2011. The share of the population aged 60 years or above stands at 10.21 per cent, a rise from 8.13 per cent in 2011. The new census shows that the Nepali people have started having fewer babies. Annual population growth from 2011 to 2021 stands at 0.92 per cent, an 80-year low since Nepal started holding population census in 1911. 

According to the World Bank’s statistics, Nepal’s annual population growth rate now is less than the global average of 1.01 per cent in 2020. These statistics show that due to various reasons, including family planning programmes promoted by the government and development partners, working parents and probably the impact of economic and financial costs, Nepali people are choosing to have fewer children. On the other hand, the recent data shared by the Department of Education validates that government schools in urban places like Kathmandu Metropolitan City are filled with children of domestic workers.

The working population above the age of 15 is increasing whereas the population below 14 is decreasing. But the fact that majority students in community schools are domestic workers proves that there is still a population who needs to send their children below 14 to earn for the family and for themselves. Apart from the fact that this is violation of these children's rights another important fact emerges. While middle class and wealthier families chose to have fewer children and send them to private schools, there are still families who cannot afford to keep children with themselves. 

Proactive policies

There are several proactive policies formed and implemented by Nepal government to boost the enrolment and retention of children, mainly girls in government schools. There are scholarships for daughters of marginalised communities. This has encouraged girls to be enrolled into government schools, while sons are enrolled in the so-called English medium private schools. However, in families who are ridden by poverty, both daughters and sons are often withdrawn from schools and sent to work to repay family debts. So although there are good policies, there are several challenges in implementation. 

As the census has shown that Nepal's children are decreasing, it is important now for both the government and the society to unpack what are the root causes of this decrease and how will it affect the wellbeing of the citizens and the future of the country. The fact that the majority of community schools in urban areas have children who are domestic workers indicates that even among the decreasing children population of the country, there are still children facing hazardous childhood. This is an alarming fact which indicates that more attention is required from all to protect and care for our children. 

(Sharma is a journalist and rights advocate. namrata1964@yahoo.com twitter handle: NamrataSharmaP)