The Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) recently carried out an ILO commissioned research study titled Child Labour in Bangladesh: A Forward Looking Policy Study.
The review exercise takes stock of some selected issues pertaining to child labour in Bangladesh such as forms, determinants and consequences of child labour, legislative developments in domestic and global contexts, national plans and policies impinging on the issue including future policy directions. The study underscored the necessity of developing strategec interventions by all relevant sectors in order to address the plight of working children.
In terms of developing policy and legal measures to address the problem of child labour, the study notes that national laws must be framed with the vision of rehabilitating children in hazardous working conditions. The research study acknowledges that legislation alone would not be sufficient unless laws are properly implemented and appropriate steps are taken for their socio-economic development.
As for strengthening institutional capacity, the study notes that currently, service delivery to disadvantaged children is grossly inadequate, a situation compounded by the lack of support structures at the local levels. There is a need to enhance the capacities of state institutions in relevant areas. However, the study identifies as one of the fundamental problems in the policy arena the formulation of policies centrally with no scope for participation of stakeholders at the local levels. As transparency and openness is a precondition to sound governance, government initiatives towards the elimination of the child labour should also be subject of public scrutiny.

The research study also points out that the presumption that basic education will somehow help reduce child labour and poverty is not very useful in a context where factors such as gender, religion and culture often act in conjunction with poverty. It is becoming increasingly clear that a variety of learning opportunities is necessary in order to respond to children's multiple capacities and to address the multiple developmental goals in different social and cultural settings. In this regard, work processes may be transformed by combining remunerative activities with education and skill training in an attempt to facilitate the growth and development of a child in constructive ways.
While policymakers have increasingly been made aware of the need to address children as a particular section of the population, there is an equally important need to identify children as a separate constituency. Children's needs, perceptions and priorities are not addressed either at the micro or the macro level. The formulation of policies on the basis of the perceptions of children and their knowledge about specific issues would have a greater chance of success than the uninspiring, and often unrealistic policies on the basis of the perceptions of adults alone.
Finally, the study points out that activities of government, NGOs and the private sector in ameliorating the vulnerabilities of working children may be complemented by co-ordinated efforts of families, social workers, activists and volunteers from the community.

CPD organised a dialogue titled Full Float of Taka: Is Bangladesh Ready for It? at the CIRDAP Auditorium on January 2, 2003. Chairman of CPD, Professor Rehman Sobhan chaired the dialogue and Bangladesh Bank (BB) Governor Dr Fakhruddin Ahmed spoke as the Special Guest. Economists, former Bangladesh Bank governors, bankers and business people took part in the dialogue. CPD fellow and former Director of UNESCAP, Dr Mirza Azizul Islam presented the keynote paper titled Exchange Rate Policy of Bangladesh: Not Floating Does Not Mean Sinking.

In his presentation, Dr Islam laid out the criterion for determining whether a country was ready for a floating or a pegged exchange rate regime. He highlighted that under the criteria for a float, Bangladesh still has a long way to go in terms of the necessary preconditions for that type of exchange rate regime.

CPD Chairman Professor Rehman Sobhan speaks at the dialogue on Full Float of Taka. Finance Minister Mr M Saifur Rahman, and CPD Executive Director Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya and former Finance Minister Mr M Syeduzzaman are also seen in the picture.

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