Abstract

This study assessed the child labour patterns and differences in the patterns based on the demography of school age children in Niger State, Nigeria. One research question was raised and answered, while three hypotheses were tested. A validated instrument titled the Child Labour Patterns Questionnaire (CHILPAQ) with a reliability coefficient of (r = 0.89) was used for data collection. The sample size for the study comprised one thousand (1000) school age children in Niger State. The aggregate mean table of the child labour patterns (3.52) is greater than the mean bench mark of (2.5), (3.52 >2.5). For begging pattern, Street Begging 3.56 (.542); Hawking 3.54 (.516); Agriculture 3.57 (.519), Loads carrying 3.51(.529); Domestic servants 3.51 (.555); Shoe-shining 3.56(.541); and Scavenging 3.51 (.555). The study concluded that child labour patterns are significant and there is no difference in the pattern based on the demography information of the participant. The recommendations made based on the findings include floating free education in the state without politics to cater for the poor and less privileged members of the community. Schools should be situated near the people in villages and remote areas to encourage poor and less privileged families to enrol in their wards. The school feeding services of the federal government should be evenly distributed to cater for all basic and post basic schools to encourage poor parents and peasant farmers to enrol their children in formal school.