Law Panel for ban on child labour

HYDERABAD, March 24: The National Law Commission is preparing a bill to make it mandatory for state governments to provide compulsory elementary education to children and to ban child labour in all industries.

Law Commission chairman Justice B P Jeevan Reddy said here that free compulsory education was necessary for children up to 14 years to protect them from social evils and accord them equal opportunity and status in society.

He was delivering a lecture on "Education: Role of the State and Emerging Issues" at the University. He said the ban, until now, was confined to children working in hazardous industries. The new bill would ban employment of children in all industries allowing them the benefit of education.