

TABLE 2 



Number and Percentage of Boys and Girls, Ages 14 to 16 

 Classified by School Grade 



In view of the requirements of the law demanding the 

 completion of the sixth grade, it is not surprising to find that 

 the children in Grade 7A contributed the largest number, 

 35.7% of the boys and 34.6% of the girls. The graduates 

 formed 30.5% of the boys and 31.4% of the girls. These two 

 groups together contributed approximately 66% for each sex. 

 Only a small number of high school children are represented, 

 namely, 5.3% of the boys and 6.2% of the girls. The re- 

 mainder are distributed among the other school grades. 



The above considerations show clearly the effect of the 

 present law on the composition of the children who apply for 

 work papers. The largest groups as to age were those in the 

 first half-year period. From the distribution by grade, we find 

 similarly that the minimum grade, 7 A, contributed the largest 

 number of children. In fact, 2,002 boys, distributed over the 

 various grades, waited until they were just old enough, before 

 applying for employment certificates. In addition, 1,924 boys 

 who were eligible as to age were obliged to wait until they had 

 reached the minimum grade. These two groups have 73 1 boys 

 in common, that is, boys who have just satisfied the minimum 

 requirements, both as to age and grade, before applying for 

 certificates. Deducting these 731, who are common to the two 

 groups, we obtain 3,195 out of a total of 5,393, or 59.2% of 

 the boys who, lacking either in age or in school grade require- 

 ment, waited until they were just eligible under the law to apply 

 for employment certificates. The corresponding figure for the 

 girls is 56.2%. Whatever the cause of this condition may be, 

 it is quite obvious that these children took advantage of the 



