The world is in a real shock to see that 70 per cent of children below ten years of age are unable to read and understand a simple text in the developing world, which shows that “learning Poverty” has only deepened.
Learning poverty has increased by a third in low- and middle-income countries, with an estimated 70 per cent of 10-yearolds unable to understand a simple written text, said the leading report titled “The State of Global Learning Poverty: 2022 Update”. The World Bank, UNESCO, UNICEF, UK govemment Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office(FCDO),USAID,and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation published the report.
Noting that 57 per cent of children in the same age group were in the learning poverty rate before the pandemic, the report stated that the learning crisis has now deepened and this generation of students now risks losing 21 trillion dollar in potential lifetime earnings in present value. This is equivalent of 17 per cent of today’s global GDP, up from the 17 trillion estimated in 2021.
HIGHEST IMPACT
The report shows that prolonged school closures, poor mitigation effectiveness, and household-income shocks had the biggest impact on learning poverty in Latin America and the Caribbean. It said that 80 per cent of children at the end-of primary-school-age are unable to understand a simple written text, up from around 50 per cent pre-pandemic. The next largest increase is in South Asia, where predictions put at 78 per cent the share of children that lack minimum literacy proficiency, up from 60 per cent pre-pandemic. In sub-Saharan Africa, increases in learning poverty were smaller, as school closures in this region typically lasted only a few months, but stand now at an extremely high 89 per cent. In all other regions, simulations show increases in learning poverty.
SUSTAINED COMMITMENT NEEDED
The report emphasizes that learning recovery and acceleration requires sustained national political commitment, from the highest political levels to all members of society. It pointed out that turning the tide against the longer-term learning crisis would require national coalitions for learning recovery – coalitions that include families, educators, civil society, the business community, and other ministries beyond the education ministry. Commitment needs to be further translated into concrete action at the national and sub-national levels, with better assessment of learning to fill the vast data gaps, clear targets for progress, and evidence-based plans for learning recovery and acceleration, the report added.
RAPID
The report also mentions about RAPID framework for learning recovery and acceleration (recently formulated by the UNICEF The RAPID framework offers a menu of evidence-based interventions that education systems can implement to help children recover lost learning, and to accelerate long-term progress in foundational learning. Governments must make sure that education systems:
- Assess learning levels regularly
- Prioritize teaching the fundamentals
MAJOR QUOTES
Robert Jenkins, UNICEF Global Director of Education: “Getting children back into the classroom is just the first step – but if we stop there, we will rob millions of children of the chance to reach their full potential. Every child has a right not only to be in school, but to learn in school, acquiring the basic skills that are the foundation for higher learning and higher income levels someday – in turn supporting equitable development and sustainable growth. We need to reach every child, in every situation. We need to assess their learning level and help them master the basics, so they can move ahead as confident learners. And especially for children living through conflicts and crises, we need to support children’s learning by making sure they have the psychosocial support they need. We can’t let children’s learning become yet another casualty of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Jaime Saavedra, Global Director for Education, World Bank: “COVID-19 has devastated learning around the world, dramatically increasing the number of children living in Learning Poverty. With 7 in 10 of today’s 10-year-olds in low- and middle-income countries now unable to read a simple text, political leaders and society must swiftly move to recover this generation’s future by ensuring learning recovery strategies and investments. The World Bank is committed to supporting countries during these challenging times. Together, we can build forward better more equitable, effective, and resilient education. We owe it not only to the children and youth of this generation, but to ourselves – in their minds rests our future.”
Alicia Herbert OBE, Director Education, Gender and Equality and Gender Envoy, FCDO: “This important document helps us to better understand where we are on education globally, and how we can ensure that all children are supported to get on track to achieve 12 years of quality education. The report shows what we feared. Even fewer children are now able to access a quality education, due to the impact of COVID-19 and school closures globally, especially the most marginalised. An estimated 7 in 10 of all children in low- and middle-income countries cannot read a simple text with comprehension by age 10. This is unacceptable. We must come together to pay attention and to act, so that all children can get back to school and learn.’
Dr. Benjamin Piper, Director of Global Education, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation: “I want readers of this report to have at least two responses. The first is profound sadness at the magnitude of the learning crisis. The learning poverty data highlights the shocking inequality that persists in learning outcomes, with 87% of children in Africa unable to read and understand a simple text. This data was collected before the COVID-19 pandemic, but the new simulations suggest this has increased to 89%. This is sad, but it’s also wrong. The second is that we have solutions that can work at scale and in govemment systems. Committing to substantial learning recovery programs is a start, but the composition of those programs matter: measure learning outcomes, but also invest in improving instruction through structured pedagogy or – teaching at the right level interventions while increasing instructional time. Countries that do this have a real opportunity not only to recover learning lost due to COVID-19, but to make significant progress to reduce learning poverty by 2030.”.
Stefania Giannini, UNESCO Assistant Director General for Education: “These estimates ring the alarm louder than ever on the urgency to prioritize education in recovery plans and beyond. We must invest in holistic and transformative policies that act on the multiple causes of the learning crisis, mobilize the international community, and put in place all the conditions to ensure that no child falls behind The Transforming Education Pre-Summit, from June 28 to 30 at UNESCO headquarters in Paris, and the Transforming Education Summit, on 19 September in New York, are our opportunity to set learning on the right tracks and fulfill the SDG4 promise to ensure quality education and lifelong learning opportunities for all.
LeAnna Mart, Acting Deputy Assistant Administrator, Bureau for Development, Democracy, and Innovation, Center for Education, USAID: “The State of Global Learning Poverty is an urgent call for commitment. Recovering from this massive shock will require all of us – governments, families, educators, civil society, and the private sector – to double our efforts to ensure every child is supported to return to school and catch up on learning. In the wake of the worst shock to education and learning in a century, USAID is committed to continuing our support to the recovery and transformation of education to ensure all children and youth are able to return to safe and quality learning. USAID will continue to build on our investments and lead globally in foundational learning, strengthening resilience in education systems, and equipping the next generation with the skills needed for lifelong success.
