Addressing Learning Poverty in Africa: Policies and Implementation

ABSTRACT
Learning poverty, commonly defined as the inability of a child to read and understand a simple text by age 10, has emerged as one of the most consequential development challenges facing Africa. Although the continent expanded access to schooling between 2000 and 2024, large proportions of children still complete the early grades without mastering foundational literacy and numeracy (UNESCO et al., 2024; UNICEF, 2021). The 2025 UNESCO spotlight report estimated that only 10.8% of children in Africa achieve the minimum proficiency level in reading and mathematics by the end of primary school, underscoring the depth of the continent’s learning poverty crisis (UNESCO, 2025a). In its communiqué of November 25, 2024, the African Union similarly stated that 9 out of 10 learners in Africa aged 10 are unable to read a simple text or undertake basic mathematical tasks, describing this as a continental learning poverty emergency (African Union, 2024b).
This manuscript consolidates the policy and implementation literature on learning poverty in Africa and develops an integrated argument about why progress has been uneven. Drawing on evidence from multilateral organizations, peer-reviewed studies, and implementation reports, the paper examines the interaction of pedagogy, governance, language of instruction, teacher management, financing, social and emotional learning, gender-responsive and inclusive pedagogy, pandemics and disease shocks, and digital innovation. It argues that the most promising reforms are those that combine structured pedagogy, targeted instruction, teacher coaching, adaptive teaching, mother tongue-based multilingual education, and safe, inclusive learning environments with sustained political commitment, domestic financing, and monitoring systems that support implementation fidelity (Piper et al., 2018; UNESCO, 2025a; UNESCO et al., 2024).
The paper further contends that the causes of learning poverty are systemic rather than merely classroom-level: weak teacher preparation, inequitable deployment, under-resourced schools, linguistic mismatch, fragile accountability systems, and insufficient attention to the economic, socio-cultural, health, and religious realities shaping participation and learning jointly reproduce low outcomes (UNESCO et al., 2024; UNICEF, 2021). Comparative discussion of reform trajectories in Kenya, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, and broader continental initiatives illustrates that technically sound programmes often falter when they are not institutionalised through teacher education, curriculum alignment, school leadership, community engagement, and reliable public financing. The manuscript concludes by outlining a policy agenda for reducing learning poverty in Africa that prioritises early-grade foundational learning, strengthens instructional leadership, embeds inclusion and safeguarding, and cautiously harnesses digital and generative artificial intelligence tools in ways that augment rather than displace teachers.

learning poverty, foundational learning, Africa, pandemics, structured pedagogy, multilingual education, inclusive education

1. African Union. (2024a, August 29). Conference on foundational literacy and numeracy (FLN): Developing and implementing inclusive education practices to ensure no child is left behind in Africa. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

2. African Union. (2024b, November 25). Communiqué marking the African Union Conference on Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) and the official launch of “The End Learning Poverty for All in Africa” (ELPAF) campaign. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

3. African Union. (2025a). Validation workshop on scalable foundational literacy and numeracy practices. African Union Commission. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

4. African Union. (2025b). Continental monitoring framework for foundational learning. African Union Commission. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

5. Education Development Trust. (2025). TEACH Zimbabwe. https://www.edt.org/what-we-do/school-years/our-programmes/teach-zimbabwe/ [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

6. Mandikiana, M. R. V. (2020). Rethinking Zimbabwean education during and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic. Quest Journal of Management and Social Sciences, 2(2), 290–306. https://doi.org/10.3126/qjmss.v2i2.33302 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

7. Mandikiana, M. R. V., Awasthi, Y., & Dambudzo, I. I. (2021). COVID-19 and its effects on refugee, asylum seeker and migrant children aged 12–17 years at Tongogara Refugee Camp in Zimbabwe. PanAfrican Journal of Governance and Development, 2(2), 170–205. https://doi.org/10.46404/panjogov.v2i2.3235 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

8. Mandikiana, M. R. V., & Murairwa, S. (2022). Parents’ perceptions of education offered by secondary mission boarding schools in the Mutasa District of Manicaland, Zimbabwe. International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, 6(12), 253–266. https://rsisinternational.org/journals/ijriss/ [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

9. Mandikiana, M. R. V., & Mutasa, L. T. (2026). Refugees asylum seekers with disabilities in Zimbabwe: Structural marginalisation, policy commitments, and the imperative for disability-inclusive refugee protection. International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, 10(4), 2793–2811. https://doi.org/10.47772/IJRISS.2026.100400213 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

10. Mashandure, M. (2025, February 20). Ground-breaking learning initiative launched. The Herald. https://www.heraldonline.co.zw/ground-breaking-learning-initiative-launched/ [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

11. Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education. (2024). Zimbabwe Early Learning Policy (ZELP): Realising children’s full potential and school readiness. Government of Zimbabwe. https://www.zinecda.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Zimbabwe-National-Early-Learning-Policy1_compressed.pdf [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

12. Moyo, T. (2026, February 4). Government moves to entrench inclusive, safe schools with GEDSI strategy. The Herald. https://www.heraldonline.co.zw/government-moves-to-entrench-inclusive-safe-schools-with-gedsi-strategy/ [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

13. Nkala, F. (2026, April 9). Bridging policy and practice: Advancing gender-responsive pedagogies in Zimbabwe. Brookings Institution. https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Brookings-EGS26-Faith-ZIM_4.9.2026-1.pdf [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

14. Piper, B., DeStefano, J., Kinyanjui, E. M., & Ong’ele, S. (2018). Scaling up successfully: Lessons from Kenya’s Tusome national literacy program. Journal of Educational Change, 19(3), 293–321. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10833-018-9325-4 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

15. Pratham. (2020, October 28). Pratham’s TaRL approach listed as “Good Buy” to improve learning in low- and middle-income countries. https://www.pratham.org/2020/10/28/prathams-tarl-approach/ [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

16. Pratham. (2026). Guided tour of teaching at the right level. https://pratham.org/guided-tour-of-teaching-at-the-right-level/ [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

17. UNESCO. (2024a, March 30). Inclusion in education: What you need to know. https://www.unesco.org/en/inclusion-education/need-know [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

18. UNESCO. (2024b). Mainstreaming social and emotional learning in education systems: Policy guide. UNESCO Publishing. https://doi.org/10.54675/ORWD6913 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

19. UNESCO. (2025a). 2025 spotlight on basic education completion and foundational learning in Africa: Lead for foundational learning. UNESCO Global Education Monitoring Report. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000395697 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

20. UNESCO. (2025b). Languages matter: Global guidance on multilingual education. UNESCO Publishing. https://doi.org/10.54675/MLIO7101 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

21. UNESCO. (2025c, February 18). New UNESCO report calls for multilingual education to unlock learning and inclusion. https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/new-unesco-guidance-calls-multilingual-education-unlock-learning-and-inclusion [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

22. UNESCO. (2025d). Spotlight on basic education completion and foundational learning: Zimbabwe. UNESCO Global Education Monitoring Report. https://doi.org/10.54676/UNTB5237 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

23. UNESCO, Association for the Development of Education in Africa, & African Union. (2024). Spotlight report on basic education completion and foundational learning in Africa, 2024: Learning counts. UNESCO Publishing. https://doi.org/10.54676/TBRB1563 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

24. UNESCO International Institute for Capacity Building in Africa. (2024). The foundational learning starter pack. UNESCO IICBA. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

25. UNICEF. (2020). Gender responsive pedagogy: A toolkit for teachers and schools. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

26. UNICEF. (2021a). Reimagining girls’ education: Solutions to keep girls learning in emergencies. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

27. UNICEF. (2021b). Gender transformative education: Reimagining education for a more just and inclusive world. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

28. UNICEF. (2024). Inclusive education. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

29. UNICEF Innocenti. (2026a). Accelerated and differentiated learning. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

30. UNICEF Innocenti. (2026b). Teachers for all: Finding effective strategies for teacher allocation across sub-Saharan Africa. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

31. UNICEF Zimbabwe. (2025a, February). UNICEF Zimbabwe annual report 2024. UNICEF. https://www.unicef.org/zimbabwe/media/13046/file/2024%20UNICEF%20ANNUAL%20REPORT_FINAL-A4WEB_27032025.pdf [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

32. UNICEF Zimbabwe. (2025b). Listen to our call for inclusive, quality and relevant education! [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

33. United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. (2024, May 9). Zimbabwe: Drought flash appeal, May 2024–April 2025. https://www.unocha.org/publications/report/zimbabwe/zimbabwe-drought-flash-appeal-may-2024-april-2025-may-2024 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

34. World Bank. (2021). Loud and clear: Effective language of instruction policies for learning. World Bank. https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/ [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

35. World Bank. (2024). Africa’s Pulse, No. 30, October 2024: Transforming education for inclusive growth. World Bank. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

• The Impact of Ownership Structure on Dividend Payout Policy of Listed Plantation Companies in Sri Lanka
• Urban Sustainability in North-East India: A Study through the lens of NER-SDG index
• Performance Assessment of Predictive Forecasting Techniques for Enhancing Hospital Supply Chain Efficiency in Healthcare Logistics
• The Fractured Self in Julian Barnes' Postmodern Fiction: Identity Crisis and Deflation in Metroland and the Sense of an Ending
• Impact of Flood on the Employment, Labour Productivity and Migration of Agricultural Labour in North Bihar