The number of children who cannot read or write increased by 66% during the pandemic.
Black and poor children were the most affected.
247 - The number of 6 and 7 year old children who cannot read or write grew by 66% during the pandemic, according to a technical note from Todos Pela Educação, released this Tuesday (8), based on the Continuous National Household Sample Survey (Pnad Contínua), from IBGE.
In 2019, the number of children in this situation was 1,4 million. In 2021, the number rose to 2,4 million.
Under normal circumstances, a child should be completing their literacy cycle by age 7. "Literacy is the foundation of a successful school career, and the earlier the better. A student who fails to become literate will have their educational trajectory compromised for the rest of their life," says Olavo Nogueira Filho, executive director of Todos Pela Educação (All for Education).
The numbers also show a difference between black and white children. Black children who cannot read or write total 44,5% - an increase of 16,3 percentage points compared to 2019 - while white children total 35,1% - an increase of 14,8 points.
There is also a difference between children from rich and poor families. The percentage among the poorest rose from 33,6% in 2019 to 51% in 2021. Among the richest children, the increase was from 11,4% to 16,6%.
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