Abstract:
The main purpose of this study was to explore and understand the impacts of child labor on primary
schools children’s school attendance and academic performance in North Gondar Zone, with
particular emphasis to children in rural areas of Chilga Woreda. To this end, the study used the
qualitative method of interpretive methodology that underpins the nature of the research questions
and aims of the study and helped the researcher to obtained in-depth data about the direct
experiences and various views from the participants of the study. The study also employed
convenience and purposive sampling techniques to select participants involved in the study. The
study participants were chosen purposefully, not randomly. In doing so, different categories of
participants have been involved for interviews as well as for Focus Group Discussions. The data
obtained from the participants have been analyzed and interpreted through thematic data analysis
techniques. According to this study, the most common forms of child labor are agricultural and
domestic work. It was also found out that child labor highly affected school attendance, and
academic performance of rural children. The study indicated that the major causes of child labor are
poverty and traditional norms of the communities. The study also revealed that there are very little
support mechanisms of school principals and teachers to assist child laborers to be successful in their
education, and the wrong attitude of the community also affected the rural children academic
achievement and school attendance. The study suggests that enforcing the existing child labor laws
and proclamations seems to be a serious problem in the study areas. Therefore, to protect children
from the hazardous and worst forms of labor, therefore, needs the designing of child protection
policies, programs and projects that would address the issues under consideration of rural child labor
contexts.
