Even though children are paid hardly anything for their long hours of work, every penny is needed to support their poor families. Whatever they make helps the family. They aren t forced to work in these conditions by the factory, they are forced to work by their own society. Another major determinant is the quality of education in most of the Third World. High illiteracy rates reflect the quality of the educational systems.
Poverty also plays a role in the ineffectiveness of the educational system.
Many children are forced to drop out of school in order to help their families. There would be immediate consequences of removing a child from a life that they are used to, no matter how horrific it may seem to us. This is all many of these children know in the countries of Southeast Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East. The removal of children from the workforce had devastating results for some children when not accompanied with adjustment programs for their rehabilitation and education, and direct assistance. Children discharged from work found themselves on the street in prostitution or crime, or working in even worse conditions and for less pay.