Authorities in Mayuge district have arrested more than 40 people, including parents, for allegedly employing school-going children on sugarcane plantations in a crackdown aimed at curbing child labour and improving school attendance. The suspects, mainly parents and plantation owners, are being held at Mayuge Central Police Station pending prosecution on child labour-related charges. Mayuge resident district commissioner (RDC) Ramadan Walugembe said the week-long operation was conducted in collaboration with local vigilantes, who provided intelligence on plantations where children were engaged in planting, weeding and harvesting sugarcane. Some of the children told authorities they were working to support their families. A primary five pupil, whose identity has been withheld, said he attends school for only half a day before working in the evenings to earn about Shs 5,000 daily to care for his mother and five siblings. Another primary seven pupil said he attends school three days a week and spends the rest of the time working on sugarcane plantations, earning at least Shs 11,000 per day to meet basic family needs, including school fees and food. “Our father left home when we were young, and I work to support our family of three,” he said. Walugembe said authorities have so far reintegrated more than 120 children into primary schools across the district. He noted that the arrests and reintegration efforts reflect a renewed commitment to ending child labour and improving school attendance in the area.The post Over 40 arrested for employing minors on sugarcane plantations in Mayuge appeared first on The Observer.