Abstract: In South Asia, Bangladesh and India have the largest number of children in child labor. More than 35% of the children in child labor in this region are completely out of school. The percentage is further higher in case of children who work in hazardous environment. So, it’s a crucial issue to focus on right now to take initiatives by using different educational strategies as a tool against child labor to achieve SDG target 8.7. Now, it’s very important to understand their present mindset and awareness level before taking or formulating strategy related to education in this region. This paper has explored the current mindset and awareness level of child labors to education in the society of Bangladesh particularly in Sylhet city. The analysis focuses on different questions like: Is their education interest associated with factors i.e. gender and age group or not? It was exploratory in nature based on field survey with direct interview method by a structured questionnaire on child labors. The sample survey was conducted in Sylhet city by selecting 300 child labors from various locations by using snowball sampling method. The study found that the awareness to go to school in child labor was significantly dependent on or associated with gender of child labor that means the male child labors are more aware to go to school than the female child labors in Sylhet city. Besides, it also identified that the willingness of child labors to go to school is independent or not significantly associated to their age level in this city. So, the finding of this research suggests that different programs should be formulated in the society to enhance the education interest that means awareness of the child labor especially by focusing on female child labors. It will contribute to improve gender parity in this society of Bangladesh.
Keywords: Education, Awareness, Child labor, Sylhet, Bangladesh.