Learning poverty is getting worse... how do we fix it?

The stats are pretty shocking: 70% of kids in low- and middle-income countries couldn’t read age-appropriate text in 2022. The pandemic really messed things up. What do you think we can do to tackle learning poverty?

It’s crazy how much COVID set kids back. Online learning just wasn’t an option for so many families.

Right? Even the families that had internet often didn’t have enough devices for all their kids.

Not to mention, parents who had to work couldn’t always help with homeschooling. It was a mess.

Teacher training is a big issue too. If teachers aren’t supported, how can they help students learn?

Yeah, teachers need better resources and ongoing training. It’s not enough to just have them in classrooms.

Agreed. My mom’s a teacher, and she struggled a lot when everything went online. Training helps.

Early childhood education could be a game-changer, IMO. Start kids off strong and they’re more likely to succeed.

Totally. But getting funding for those programs is so hard in low-income countries.

Maybe international aid could focus more on early education. It’s an investment in the future.

What about gender inequality? Girls face so many obstacles just to get an education. It’s really sad.

Yeah, early marriage and cultural norms make it tough for girls to stay in school.

And then there’s period poverty too. Some girls miss school because they don’t have basic sanitary products.

Language barriers are a huge challenge. Kids learning in a second language struggle more. It’s just a fact.

Would it help if schools taught in kids’ native languages first, then switched to the national language later?

That could work, but it might be hard to implement in places with lots of languages.

Economic inequality is such a root cause. If families are struggling, education often takes a backseat.

True. Kids from poor families sometimes have to work instead of going to school. It’s heartbreaking.

It’s a vicious cycle. No education means fewer job opportunities later, which keeps families in poverty.

Leveraging technology sounds great, but we really need to address the digital divide first.