COVID-19 May Leave 12 Million Children Unable to Read

A report from One Campaign found that COVID-19 has hindered literacy efforts globally. The report reveals that 70 million 10-year-olds in 2021 will lack the basic literacy skills common to children of that age. Of these, 12 million will be unable to read altogether.

According to The Hill, the new analysis found that more than half the world’s 10-year-olds could be incapable of reading or understanding a sentence in 2021 due to school closures, one of the unfortunate side effects of the pandemic. One Campaign, a non-profit, anti-poverty organization, said that the learning crisis is particularly dire in Africa and Asia.

While wealthier nations were able to resort to virtual learning when schools closed because of COVID-19, the poorest countries were unable to provide hybrid or online learning due to a lack of technology and the infrastructure required for remote education, says The Hill.

“This has real world implications,” said David McNair, executive director for global policy at One Campaign, adding that when children cannot read by the age of 10, it affects their whole education including their ability to “learn, earn and start businesses.”

McNair urged all governments to step up to the plate and invest in the future of these children.

“This virus has taken enough from us already, it must not take the futures of millions of children as well,” he said in a press release. The ONE Campaign said that without urgent action, this will have a devastating effect on the global economy for decades to come losing the potential for the next group of doctors, scientists, and leaders when they will be most needed.

“This lost potential doesn’t just damage lives, it prevents whole economies from growing,” said McNair. ONE is asking governments to give at least $5 billion to shore up the Global Partnership for Education program which would enable 175 million kids to learn over the next five years and endorse the two U.K. projects set up for girls’ global education, according to the press release.

The ONE Campaign analysis also warns that by the year 2030, there could be 750 million children who lack literacy skills by the age of 10, according to The Hill.

In the U.S., a blog by Brookings, an American research group, reported that learning skills here at home were also affected by COVID-19. The researchers estimated that children affected by the pandemic and forced to learn virtually, would return to school with only 70% of the learning gains in reading relative to a previous typical school year. In mathematics, students were predicted to have even a smaller learning gain, returning to the classroom with less than 50% of their previous achievements.