Only 1 out of 3 10-Year-Old Can Read Simple Story – UNICEF

Prolonged school closures and a lack of access to quality learning during the pandemic exposed a pre-existing learning crisis worldwide, according to the UNICEF.

“Under-resourced schools, underpaid and under-qualified teachers, overcrowded classrooms and archaic curricula are undermining our children’s ability to reach their full potential,” UNICEF executive director Catherine Russel said.

“The trajectory of our education systems is, by definition, the trajectory of our future. We need to reverse current trend lines or face the consequences of failing to educate an entire generation. Low levels of learning today mean less opportunity tomorrow,” Russel added.

To draw attention, the agency unveiled the “Learning Crisis Classroom,” a model classroom that represents the scale of children failing to learn critical foundational skills.

The installation is displayed at the visitor’s entrance of United the Nations Headquarters in New York from Sept. 16 to 26.

“This installation represents the shocking scale of the global learning crisis,” the UNICEF said.

The agency noted that with hundreds of millions of children being left behind at school.

“Without urgent action by world leaders hundreds of millions of children will never reach their full potential. This is unacceptable. Let them learn, now,” it said.

“We are urging new effort and investment to re-enroll and retain all children in school, to increase access to remedial and catchup learning, to support teachers and give them the tools they need, and to make sure that schools provide a safe and supportive environment so all children are ready to learn,” it added.