Child Labour and Its Effects on the Cognitive Development of School-Age Children in Sokoto State

This study examines the effects of child labour on the cognitive development of school-age children in Sokoto State, North West Nigeria. Child labour remains a significant developmental concern in northern Nigeria, where economic hardship and inadequate access to quality education continue to push children into premature work roles. This research employed a comparative survey design involving 380 children aged 8 to 14 years, comprising 190 working children and 190 non-working children matched on age and gender. Cognitive development was assessed using the Ravens Coloured Progressive Matrices and a locally standardised Academic Achievement Battery. Parents completed socioeconomic status questionnaires to control for confounding variables. Results indicate that working children performed significantly lower on cognitive assessments and school achievement measures compared to non-working peers. The number of daily working hours demonstrated a dose-response relationship with cognitive impairment, with children working more than five hours daily showing the steepest cognitive deficits. These effects were most pronounced in reading comprehension and logical reasoning tasks. The study recommends that Sokoto State Government prioritise enforcement of child labour laws, expand conditional cash transfer programmes to economically vulnerable households, and strengthen the community-based monitoring of school attendance. Keywords: child labour, cognitive development, school-age children, Sokoto State, academic achievement.