Our Children Lag Behind by One Semester Compared to Many Countries Where the Gap is 1.5 Years: Andreasian

According to the latest report by the World Bank, the coronavirus pandemic has significantly increased illiteracy or functional illiteracy. This was stated by the Deputy Minister of Education, Science, Culture, and Sports of Armenia, Zhanna Andreasian, on her Facebook page.

"In low and middle-income countries, the proportion of 10-year-olds who cannot read and understand basic texts has reached around 70 percent. This is a consequence of school closures and interrupted education. In most of these countries, schools have been closed for 200-250 days, and many still remain closed.

At the beginning of the year, forecasts estimated that the increase in functional illiteracy would be 10 percent, but research shows that the negative impact is greater—17 percent—because the pre-COVID level of illiteracy in these countries was 53 percent. Measurements indicate that one month of not attending classes is equivalent to at least the same amount of time in learning setbacks.

In our country, the school closure rate was much lower—12 weeks. Our children have lagged behind by one semester, unlike many countries where a gap of one and a half years has emerged. But this is still a serious issue, especially when compounded by existing problems in the education system.

The pandemic is not just a health issue. Its consequences have become an increasingly severe problem for the education system. Let’s keep our children out of worsening conditions; each step we take to support the health situation also becomes a step towards ensuring the right to education for them," wrote Andreasian.