Gaps remain

India has achieved near-universal primary school enrolment, according to UNESCO's Global Education Monitoring Report 2024-25 released recently.

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But this means little because the same report also shows that the country, along with many others, continues to grapple with poor learning outcomes. The GEMR found that 73% of children in developing countries are unable to read and comprehend a simple text by the age of 10 — a stark indicator of the growing gap between access to education and quality learning. This chasm is also borne out by the findings of the Annual State of Education Report 2024, which showed that in India, only 27.1% of Class III and 48.8% of Class V students are able to read a Class II text. The role of well-trained teachers in sufficient numbers in affecting learning outcomes is an oft-highlighted fact. But the GEMR stands out for underlining an aspect that often