Pedagogical poem: it is necessary to immediately stop the spread of illiteracy in the world

I would like to remind you that, according to the plot of the movie, by 2505, humanity has become so stupid that the average IQ in the world is 20 points (in 2005 it was 110). It is clear that this process was accompanied by a total degradation of the economy, industry and everything else. So, to prevent this picture from turning from a comedy into a documentary, we need to do something now.

I was inspired to write this blog after reading a post on Instagram by Pakistan's most prominent human rights activist Malala Yousufzai. She shared that she traditionally celebrates her birthday with her students in Nigeria, for whose right to education she has been fighting for 10 years.

Fighting for minds

In general, education is a separate issue in Nigeria. In the north-east of the country alone, the idiots of the terrorist group "Boko Haram" have destroyed 1.4 thousand schools and killed 2.3 thousand teachers in recent years! I have already written about their “soul mates” - the regimes in Afghanistan and Iran. So today I want to talk about our common problem on a planetary scale.

According to UNESCO, 98 million children in sub-Saharan Africa are out of school today. And 85 million boys and girls in Central and South Asia are out of school. These are two record-breaking regions.

The closure of schools during the coronavirus pandemic has caused literacy rates to plummet. In low- and middle-income countries, 70% of ten-year-olds cannot read simple text! In 2019, the figure was 57%. Even before the pandemic, in early 2020, 259 million children were out of school - that's 1/6 of the world's population in their age group. And then those children grow up and we now have over 770 million adults who cannot read or write. And two-thirds of them are women.

Where to get the money

Global education needs investment – that's obvious. The United Nations Children's Fund once estimated that an additional $340 billion was needed. I think that figure is even higher today. The amount is huge, but not tragic.

Firstly, our planet is full of rich and even filthy rich people. For example, according to Forbes, the number of billionaires has substantially increased by 2023. There are now 2,640 names on the list of the world's richest people. In 2000, there were only 500! The USA leads the way in terms of the number of billionaires, followed by China and India. There are enough billionaires in Germany, the UK, Hong Kong, Canada, Italy and Brazil.

I'm not even talking about millionaires, who are no longer counted. The 25 richest people in the world are worth an estimated $2.1 trillion. Guys, you can't spend that in your lifetime, no matter how hard you try! Think about the world your children and grandchildren will live in. Will you build yourself a flying island above the earth so that you are not surrounded by illiterate and impoverished humanity? And such a prospect is quite real, as the number of adults who cannot read or write is surely approaching a billion!

Another question is whether national governments should be involved in this process. After all, every euro spent on education will later generate 10-15 euros in economic growth indicators. Because the state will have educated and free citizens who will help the countries to solve economic and climate problems. Armed conflicts, violence against women and other nasty things that come with poverty and illiteracy will disappear.

The European Union recently pledged to devote more than 10 per cent of its partnership budget to global education. That is more than €6 billion. Not enough for everyone. I hope other countries and billionaire philanthropists will take up this important initiative.

Targeted investment

Another important point. I have written before that Africa has received serious financial support from the developed world over the past 60 years. But economists recognize that this aid is not working and is not producing meaningful results. A World Bank study found that 85% of financial aid to Africa was misused. And very often the donors knew about it, but continued to send money!

I repeat, any financial aid to poor countries should start with investment in education throughout the age chain – from kindergarten to university. International investment programmes should be aimed at the comprehensive development of individual industrial regions, where the educational interests of the local population are taken into account first and foremost. And not in the sense – you dig a quarry, then go ahead and drag the stones! No. It is necessary to build housing for the workers together with the factories, as well as schools and kindergartens for their children.

Private investment should also be strictly targeted and tightly controlled. I don't want the money I donate to build a school, for example, to be used to buy a villa for some unscrupulous African prince! At various times I have donated more than €1 million to various programmes supporting women, children and families. In particular, I donated £55,000 to the Artists for Peace and Justice initiative to support local communities around the world with education, health and dignity programmes.