Rethinking the Trend of Child Labour and Policy Implementation of Child Rights Act in Bayelsa State, Nigeria: Intrigues, Issues and Panacea

Abstract

This study investigated strategies for addressing child labor through the implementation of the Child Rights Act in Nigeria. Four research questions were posed, and four hypotheses were tested. The study employed a survey design, targeting all principals of public junior secondary schools in Bayelsa State. A convenience sampling technique was used to select 84 principals from thepopulation. The data collection instrument was a 20-item questionnaire titled "Child Rights Act for Addressing Child Labour Questionnaire" (CRAACLQ), which was face and content validated by two Measurement and Evaluation experts at the University of Port Harcourt. The questionnaire's reliability was estimated using Cronbach alpha statistics, yielding an index of 0.82. Research questions were answered using mean and standard deviation, while hypotheses were tested using a z-test at a 0.05 significance level. The study's results revealed that poverty is the primary cause of child labor and implementing the Child Rights Act (CRA) will contribute to the holistic development of children. However, the CRA's effectiveness is hindered by a lack of political will, requiring increased sensitization, sanctions, and inter-institutional collaboration to succeed in curbing child labor. The study recommends further public sensitization on the Act.