United States Department of Labor

São Tomé and Principe

Government Policies and Programs to Eliminate the Worst Forms of Child Labor

The Government of São Tomé and Principe’s Ministry ofEducation has created a program where fifth through eighth graders have accessto agricultural training programs.[3840] The government is also working with the IMF, the World Bank and otherorganizations to improve equal access in the educational system and to enhancethe quality of education.[3841] Through the program, primary schooling will be extended to the fifth and sixthgrades (or 6 years) instead of ending at the fourth grade, and the quality ofsecondary education will be improved. In addition, the government is workingto encourage enrollment for all children (particularly girls and children indisadvantaged areas); reduce repetition and dropout rates at the primary level;renovate existing schools and constructing new ones; encourage communityparticipation; provide teacher training for primary and secondary teachers;provide materials to the most disadvantaged children; and strengtheninstitutional and managerial capacities in the field of education.[3842] The Government of São Tomé and Principe is also working under UNESCO’s Educationfor All Initiative to strengthen its teacher-training program and to providetraining for primary school inspectors,[3843]and is planning to use oil money from offshore reserves to improve educationand health in the country.[3844]

World Food Program began a 4-year program in 2000 to providea midday meal to over 30,000 children in primary schools and kindergartens toalleviate short-term hunger and maintain attendance rates.[3845] In conjunction with the government, UNICEF is implementing an education programthat focuses on the improvement of education quality in general, and morespecifically, increasing primary school access for children up to the sixthgrade.[3846] The program includes building new primary school classrooms, strengtheningteacher-training programs and providing additional school materials. In 1999,the government began a program which trains girls in life skills and languageswith help from UNICEF. [3847] Also in 1999, UNICEF carried out an initial rapid assessment on workingchildren in A. Grande and Caue.[3848]

Incidence and Nature of Child Labor

In 2000, UNICEF estimated that 19 percent of children ages 5to 14 years in São Tomé and Principe were working; of those, approximately 2percent were paid laborers, and another 6 percent participated in unremuneratedwork.[3849] Almost 5 percent of the working children within this age group perform domesticwork for 4 or more hours per day,[3850]which may include carrying out domestic tasks such as cooking, collecting waterand watching younger siblings for more than 4 hours per day.[3851] About 10 percent of children ages 5 to 14 work for their families in thestreets, participate in agricultural labor on commercial farms or engage inactivities in the informal sector. This percentage is highest in Principe (18percent) and in the north (15 percent).[3852] Sometimes from an early age, children reportedly work in subsistenceagriculture, on plantations, and in informal commerce.[3853] Children also work in auto mechanic shops, and in cabinetry and tailoring.[3854] Although education is compulsory through thesixth grade, many children work in the absence of available education beyondthe fourth grade.[3855] There is little information about the commercial sexual exploitation ofchildren in the country, but the government reportedly expects that, with theincrease in tourism, the establishment of tax-free zones, oil exploration andincreased migration to São Tomé, children are at risk of such exploitation.[3856]

Education is free and universal through the age of 14 andcompulsory through the sixth grade; education after the sixth grade or afterthe age of 14, whichever comes first, is not free.[3857] In 1999, the gross primary enrollment rate was 70 percent.[3858] While enrollment rates indicate a level of commitment to education, they do notalways reflect children’s participation in school.[3859]Childrenin primary schools had a repetition rate of 31 percent and a dropout rate of 34percent.[3860]

Class time is insufficient because of a triple shift system,which designates four hours for class time, so students attend between two andthree hours of class time per day.[3861] In addition, the proportion of qualified primary school teachers is declining.[3862] The educational system has a shortage of classrooms, insufficiently trained andunderpaid teachers, inadequate textbooks and materials, high rates ofrepetition, poor educational planning and management, and a lack of communityinvolvement in school management.[3863] Although access to the first year of school is universal, 78 percent ofchildren who enter first grade reach fourth grade and 52 percent reach eighthgrade.[3864] There is also a lack of coordination among government ministries on educationissues[3865]and a lack of domestic financing for the school system, leaving the systemhighly dependent on foreign financing.[3866]

Child Labor Laws and Enforcement

The minimum age for admission to employment as establishedby national legislation is 14 years, or 18 years for dangerous jobs and jobsrequiring heavy manual labor.[3867] The minimum age does not apply to family-owned or operated enterprises, homework, domestic services, self-employed work, family-owned or small-scale farms,and light work. It does apply to such areas as commercial agriculture andexport processing zones.[3868] It is illegal for children under 18 years to work at night, except withpermission from the Labor Ministry, or to work more than 7 hours per day and 35hours per week.[3869] The Ministry of Justice and Labor is responsible for enforcing labor laws.[3870] The Penal Code addresses the commercial sexual exploitation of childrenalthough there have been few prosecutions.[3871] Forced and bonded labor, including by children, is prohibited and not known toexist.[3872]

The Government of São Tomé and Principe has not ratifiedeither ILO Convention 138 or ILO Convention 182.[3873]