Accelerating progress towards eradicating child labour (SDG8.7) with quality education (SDG4): School quality is linked to reduced child cocoa labour in Côte d’Ivoire

Abstract

Child labour disrupts education, but there is scant research on the reciprocal relationship: education disrupting child labour. We examined the link between school quality and child cocoa agricultural work in a sample of 2168 fifth-grade children from forty-one primary schools in rural Côte d’Ivoire. Children attending a higher quality school were less likely to work on a cocoa plantation. Specifically, quality infrastructure and teaching materials were associated with reduced cocoa agricultural activities, but not with domestic and economic activities. Against the backdrop of a global focus on improving education quality, we suggest that investments in quality education may serve the dual purpose of reducing child labour alongside improving children’s learning outcomes.