Learning poverty means unable to read and understand , age appropriate text by age 10. Reading is a important factor in education and passage for learning as the child progress through school. It helps children learn better in all other subjects. And, it can be measured effectively. This is why, learning poverty is defined as being unable to read and understand a simple text by age 10. If till the age of 10 if children is unable to read its a clear indication that the school system in not well organized. It is possible to learn after the age of 10 but according to world bank article, children who don’t read by age 10—or at the latest, by the end of primary school—usually fail to master reading later in their schooling career. Even though most children are in school, a large proportion are not acquiring fundamental skills. Moreover, 260 million children are not even in school.

According to World Bank 70% of children by the age if 10 is unable to read a simple text. Before pandemic it was 53%. Global learning crisis is increasing because of school closure due to COVID–19 pandemic and if something is not done now, this generation will unable to acquire the human capital they need to power their careers and economies once they leave school , they have lower productivity, lower earning, lower well being in the future.

The learning poverty indicator focuses on reading for three reasons:

Reading proficiency is an easily understood learning measure
Reading is a student’s gateway to learning in other areas
Reading proficiency can serve as a proxy for foundational learning in other subjects

Even though many countries have significantly raised educational investments, today the world is facing a learning crisis.

Steps taken to address learning poverty in India-

  • NEP calls for achieving foundational skills - reading, writing and arithmetic - for all children in primary school and beyond 2025.
  • NIPUN Bharat mission
  • SEQI by NITI Aayog aims to shofts the focus to learning outcomes.
  • NISHTHA programme for Teachers and School Heads launched by NCERT

Parents and the educational system are both accountable. It is clear that each teacher promoted him from one grade to the next without recommending him to the student study team (if such a group exists at the institution) to work on classroom management techniques. They ought to have initiated the Special Ed. referral procedure if that didn’t work.
Due to the fact that they failed to speak out for their child, the parents are equally accountable. They need to have addressed a letter to the principal of the school.
Also by the help of these various mission and programmes, we will draw a positive energy from nature to unite us in harmony and, in turn, solve all of our issues.

Worrying Increase in ‘Learning Poverty’/ Challenges

Many countries including India had to close down schools and colleges and encouraged online classes.
School systems are not well-organized: When the child cannot read, it’s usually a clear indication that the school systems are not well-organized to help children learn in other areas such as math, science, and humanities.
The study quotes that many children globally cannot read proficiently.
Over 260 million children do not attend school, further deepening the crisis.
Learning Poverty is mainly found in developing countries, including India.
According to a report by the World Bank in 2019, 55% of children in the country at late primary age are unable to read correctly.
The problem worsened during COVID-19 as observations suggest a 20% increase.
Surveys have shown that many students have been forced to withdraw from private schools and enroll in government schools because of a decline in household incomes. But there are vast quality gaps in private and public schools.

Due to COVID-19-related school closures and other disruptions have dramatically increased learning poverty, the rate of children unable to read and understand a simple passage by age 10.

In a new joint publication by the World Bank, UNICEF, FCDO, USAID, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and in partnership with Learning Crisis.

The new data presented in the report confirms that shortly before the start of the pandemic, learning poverty was very high. Since then, COVID-19 has dramatically increased learning poverty, and COVID-induced school disruptions have exacerbated a severe learning crisis before the pandemic. The new RAPID structure provides countries with a menu of options to recover and speed up learning.

Increasing Learning Poverty is a grave concern in the country which need to be addressed ASAP. World bank had also highlighted this issue in the nation.
Any interventions to promote literacy need to be backed by the entire education system through system-wide reform, a strong political commitment as well as the use of technological solutions to bolster impact. It is also important to provide measurement and action-oriented research that can support these efforts. This will help countries to know where they stand in terms of early literacy, and design effective policies accordingly.