World Bank To Address Learning Poverty In Children Globally

Children globally experienced learning crisis, before the emergence of COVID-19. The World Bank has identified that 53% of children in low- and middle-income countries are subject to poverty in learning.

According to the World Bank most children experiencing poverty in learning are usually unable to read and understand simple text by age 10, or upon the completion of primary school. Learning crisis limits possibilities for children, threatens human capital development and slows down economic growth in countries.

Learning crisis usually affect mostly children in countries engulfed by fragility conflict and violence i.e war. In such countries children are let with no option to quit school because of political crisis, armed conflict, natural disasters, or major disease outbreaks.

The World Bank Group has affirmed that it’s major focus is that out of $20.6 billion total active investments in education, $5.4 billion is focused on populations affected by Fragility conflict and violence, to ensure dynamic education system for affected children.

The World Bank stated that learning poverty inadvertently affects women and girls, and the disabled. Lack of education fosters gender discrimination, limits opportunities and cause a reversal in human capital gains.

According to the World Bank Group, the initiative will benefit both children who are out of school and children in school, it will also enhance children’s learning; finance the construction of subsequent classrooms and measure children’s literacy.

The initiative is been sponsored to check disruptions in learning caused by COVID-19 pandemic, which has further hindered efforts to educate refugees. Because refugees are the most affected by the pandemic and are often the first to experience learning poverty.

The World Bank Group has therefore identified investing in human capital with focus on education, the important aspectof the recently released first World Bank Group strategy for Fragility conflict and violence.