Peru, a country in western South America has struggled in the past to address the challenges of child labor. Recent studies and programs point to bilingual education as a key strategy in combating poverty and potentially creating a brighter future for the nation’s children. These developments suggest bilingual education might play a crucial role in addressing child labor in Peru, offering a hopeful path forward in the struggle against this enduring challenge. In addition, by offering instruction in both indigenous languages and Spanish, these educational initiatives provide more accessible and relevant learning experiences for indigenous children.

Child labor in Peru

Conducted in 2015, the National Child Labor Survey found 1,619,200 children engaged in some form of labor in Peru. The largest sector of child labor is in the agricultural industry at 63.8%. However, various other industries also exploit child labor in the country. A hazardous business comes in small-scale mining. Here children are used informally and are at risk of being exposed to harmful gases, mercury poisoning, mining collapse and even landslides and explosive accidents.

Illegal mining also poses a threat to local communities with child trafficking commonplace. In these instances, commercial sexual exploitation and forced child labor can devastate lives in the mining regions of Peru. It is also worth noting that the level of child labor in coastal and urban regions was far lower than that of rural and jungle regions. This disparity shows the added struggle that indigenous Peruvians have in securing their children’s safety and future.

Bilingual Education

The good news can be found in the research paper “Bilingual Education and Child Labor: Lessons from Peru.” Written by Professor Alberto Posso, Head of the Department of Accounting, Finance and Economics at Griffith University’s Business School. Published by the “Journal of Economic Behaviour and Organization” Posso notes the correlation between indigenousness and increased levels of poverty in the country.

While Peru’s illiteracy rate sits at 6%, indigenous people in the country represent 4% of that figure. To address this challenge, the Peruvian government has promoted bilingual programs that aim to retain indigenous children in schools and support their traditional cultural values while also teaching the national language of Spanish.

The National Department for Intercultural Bilingual Education (DINEBI) has significantly impacted bilingual education by providing teacher training courses to 16,000 individuals. Additionally, initiatives like the Project on Education in Rural Areas (PEAR) promote intercultural dialogue. This dialogue not only enriches understanding of life in Peru’s indigenous communities but also offers innovative approaches to education and early childhood learning, aiming for more inclusive and culturally diverse educational environments.

The Results

Government-supported bilingual education initiatives in Peru have led to a 12%-18% decrease in child labor. According to Professor Posso’s research, similar policies could boost the number of hours indigenous children spend in school by 38%. Above all, bilingual education emerges as a crucial tool not only in Peru but also in national and international efforts to combat child labor and poverty. It underscores the importance of community-specific initiatives in acknowledging the unique ways poverty affects majority groups and marginalized communities.

– Thomas Field
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