The first is child labour. Although no accurate statistics are available, the International Labour Organization estimates that in developing countries 250 million children between age five and 14 work. More than 60 per cent of them live in Asia. Countries like China must enforce laws to prevent this practice and impose penalties for violations. The second is under-funded schools.
Education is essential for children to escape the perils of poverty.
But extreme funding shortages plague many developing countries, forcing school systems to find alternative means to finance education. Often this is done by charging fees to students, forcing the poorest to drop out. Both developing countries and the international community must direct more resources to education so that every child can achieve his or her right to a basic education. The primary school in Fang Lin brought these two issues together with tragic consequences. By apparently trying to alleviate funding shortfalls through its students' labour, it exposed those children to extremely dangerous work.