MITHI, Sept 18: Speakers at a workshop held here on Monday called upon international agencies, civil society and community organisations to start education programmes for working children.

They said that working children had been deprived of getting proper education, healthcare and recreational facilities owing to their exploitation at the hands of employers.

The workshop on “child and bonded labour” was organised by the Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research in collaboration with Thar Deep.

NGO representative Iqbal Detho said that about 3.3 million children had been working in the country, despite launching of a number of education programmes by the government and NGOs.

He said that 45.3 per cent children have no access to health care and education, 40.3 per cent to primary school and 76.1 per cent to secondary education.

He said the government planned to increase the literacy rate from 49 per cent in 2003 to 60 per cent in 2006 by making 13 million people literate through the national literacy programme.

Mr Detho said that such programmes initiated by successive government over the years had failed to increase the literacy rate.

Abid Channa said that about 4,000 children of poor families of Thar had been working at carpet looms. The Thar Deep also opened outlets where weavers of carpets can get reasonable rate for their products.