A new World Bank report found that learning poverty is prevalent in Pacific Island countries, except in Palau, where 10 percent of 10-year-olds cannot read.
The World Bank Pacific Economic Update report launched on Wednesday found that in Kiribati, Tonga, and Tuvalu island nations, “more than two-thirds of children cannot read with understanding.”
The regional learning assessment in the report gathered from Kiribati showed that many primary school children struggle with basic reading and literacy.
“ The most recent results for the year six national standardized tests of achievement in Kiribati (STAKI) indicate that in 2018, 60 percent of students were not proficient in English literacy at the end of primary school, a figure roughly consistent with estimated learning poverty.”
English is the primary language of instruction in secondary schools in Kiribati, the report said.
“As a result, learning proves to be a challenge for secondary school students: nearly two-thirds of students do not acquire the adequate learning level assessed by examinations at the end of junior and senior secondary school,” it said.
The report further added that only 37.4 percent of year nine students passed the junior secondary examination in 2020, and only 36.8 percent of year 12 students passed the end of the senior secondary examination.
The Pacific Island countries are also grappling with attracting teachers, and many teachers are not using effective teaching practices. There is also a high rate of teacher absenteeism and a lack of incentives to motivate teachers to perform their work effectively, even though the report says teachers’ salaries in the region are high by international comparison.