Learning For All

Once children are in school, the next challenge is to ensure that they are actually learning to read, write and count, and acquire the life skills they will need to become productive members of society.

A teacher assesses a student's early math skills
in Nairobi, Kenya. © GPE/Deepa Srikantaiah

It is a priority for the Global Partnership for Education to improve the quality of education for children worldwide.

In GPE’s 2012-2015 Strategic Plan, the 3rd objective aims for:

But many factors contribute to limiting the quality of the education that children receive, and hence their learning: lack of textbooks, overcrowded classes, absent children and teachers, poor use of classroom time, parents unable to monitor homework, lack of use of mother tongue, developmental delays due to lack of early childhood interventions, inappropriate or insufficient learner assessment and limited teacher skills.

The Challenge

• Approximately 250 million children are currently in school but are learning very little because of inefficient and inadequate education.
• In 1/3 of countries, at least 1/4 of primary school teachers are not trained to the national standard (UNESCO)
• Between 25% and 75% of children in the more deprived regions of poor countries cannot read a single word even after several years in school.
• In some low-income countries, the percentage of time that students are engaged in learning is as low as 39% (World Bank).

Why we focus on learning

By mobilizing GPE partner countries, donors, international organizations, the private sector, and civil society partners, GPE aims to generate action to improve children’s early skills in primary schools. Our focus is on reading, math and life skills.

Reading: The ability to read is the most basic aspect of knowledge sharing. It is the basis for further learning and has become a key indicator in assessing the quality of education children receive at the primary school level. It is a core value of education policy worldwide to ensure that all children get the knowledge and skills to live healthy, productive lives. GPE’s goal is to halve the number of non-reading children in early grades in at least 20 of our developing country partners. Read more

Math Education: Many of GPE partner countries perform poorly in international mathematics achievement comparisons because of the challenges they face in providing early grade math education to children. Basic numerical and mathematical skills are critical for an individual’s life success. Low numeracy skills are associated with substantial costs to the society at large. GPE’s goal is to collaborate with our partners to research, better understand, and develop targeted interventions to develop and improve early grade mathematics education. Read more

Our Response

GPE partners commit to the following:

• Support efforts to increase early childhood education, especially for marginalized children
• Ensure that there is adequate time devoted to reading and numeracy in the early grades
• Support qualified teachers equipped with good approaches to teach reading and numeracy
• Provide appropriate reading materials
• Promote mother tongue instruction for reading
• Promote regular assessment of reading and numeracy progress.