A new study, released on Friday by the UN cultural agency, has revealed that more than 100 million more children, than expected, are falling behind the minimum proficiency level in reading, due to COVID-related school closures.
According to the study from the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), “One year into COVID: Prioritising education recovery to avoid a generational catastrophe,” even before the pandemic the number of children lacking basic reading skills was on a downward curve.
A UNESCO statement said in 2020, instead of 460 million children experiencing reading difficulties, that number jumped to 584 million. The rise of more than 20 per cent, wiped out two decades of education gains, the agency said.
NAN
