More than half of children and youth worldwide are ‘not learning’
Facts and principles tips #2023-22/3
A report from UNESCO shows that about 617 million children and adolescents worldwide are not achieving minimum proficiency levels in reading and mathematics, signaling “a learning crisis” that could threaten progress on global development goals.
Surprisingly, two-thirds of the children who are not learning are in school. Of the 387 million primary-age children unable to read proficiently, 262 million are in classrooms. About 137 million adolescents of lower secondary age are also in classrooms but unable to meet minimum proficiency levels in reading.
The report indicates that along with a lack of access to school and a failure to retain children, the poor quality of education in the classroom is among the three common problems.
The global educational goals are clear: Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4) signals a commitment from governments to ensure an “inclusive and equitable quality education and the promotion of lifelong learning opportunities for all.”
What do you think could fix the global education system?
What we know/ what we need:
A total of 258.4 million individuals (children, adolescents, and youth) were out of school in 2018.
In low-income countries, 68.2 million do not attend school compared to 5.7 million in high-income countries.
In 39 out of 99 countries, fewer than 50% of the poorest children have completed primary school.
20% or 12 million primary-age children across the globe have not attended school as of 2018.
In the Asia Pacific (APAC) region, seven countries reported more than 95% net enrollment rate for primary education.
Globally, the out-of-school rate for lower secondary school age group (15.6%) is twice as high as the primary school age group (8.2%).
Lower-middle-income countries, however, have the highest number of out-of-school population at 148.9 million.
Sub-Saharan Africa’s out-of-school rate in 2018 reached 31.2% or 97.5 million of the region’s population.
Southern Asian region follows Sub-Saharan Africa with 21.5% out of school rate, which represents 93 million children, adolescents, and adults who are not in school.
In terms of literacy rate, nine APAC countries reported above 90% rate in adult literacy in 2018.
Two out of every three countries reported that the youth literacy rate is nearly equal between males and females.
Youth literacy rate across the globe has increased from 81% to 92% from 1985 to 2018.
Across countries where youth literacy data is available, 70% have either eradicated or nearly eradicated illiteracy among the youth age group.
7% of girls from 15 to 17 years are not in school.
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Takeaways
With accelerated climate and environmental changes, our planet's fragility is becoming increasingly apparent. Persistent inequalities, social fragmentation, and political extremism bring many societies to a crisis.
Advances in digital communication, artificial intelligence, and biotechnology present serious promises but also raise growing ethical and governance concerns, especially due to innovation and technological changes that have an uneven record of contributing to human flourishing.
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Resources
More than half of children and youth worldwide ‘not learning’ – UNESCO
55 Education Statistics: Global Data, Latest Trends & Predictions
You asked, "What do you think could fix the global education system?" I was interested to read elsewhere that, "Khan Academy believes that AI and Large Language Models hold the potential to transform education." My own children are just out of high school, but I've been struck how much time their peers spend watching online videos, playing computer games, and using social media. Clearly, children enjoying spending a lot of time on screens and they learn how to use their devices to play games and communicate. Seems like Khan Academy and other people could figure out how to combine social media, video games, AI and education in a way that allows AI systems to teach literacy and numeracy skills at very low cost globally. Perhaps time in school can be better focused on developing healthy eating and exercising habits, improving social interaction skills, and encouraging empathy and conflict resolution.