Are Our Children Learning? Literacy and Numeracy Across East Africa - 2013

The 2013 report plots learning trends over the last three years with disappointing findings: learner achievement in these basic tests have remained constant across East Africa with slight changes in numeracy in Tanzania. These findings are worrying. East Africa has declared ambitious aspirations for the future in the Vision 2025 (Tanzania), 2030 (Kenya) and 2040 (Uganda). What does the fact that our school systems produce illiterate and semi-literate children imply for the realistic achievement of these ‘Visions’? Can vibrant economies and creative democracies be built in East Africa when the majority of our children cannot read and count well? And as inequalities – between the rich and poor, urban and rural – get reinforced, what does it mean for the social cohesion the region desperately needs?