“Learning Poverty”^[1] is a concept created by the World Bank and UNESCO, which simply measures the number of students who cannot read a simple story by age 10. Currently, Pakistan has a Learning Poverty rate of 75 %, significantly pushing us behind other countries in South Asia.

There are many reasons for this such as low investment in public education^[2], lack of school infrastructure, recent flood damages and more. However, we’re not here to tell you about the problem — we’re here to present a solution.

What Are We Doing To Improve Foundational Learning?

At TeeSquare^[3],we provide digital, accelerated learning to students of all ages who are looking to gain foundational education. Currently, we offer KG to 2nd Grade education in English, Urdu and Mathematics in just 36 weeks.

Once students enroll in our program, they get a learning kit, consisting of an iPad, stylus and headphones. Our app’s interactive, engaging interface talks learners through in their local language making the app easy to use for everyone. The app can also be used offline so if there is a power outage, students won’t lose progress. Lastly, students are enrolled with community partners who support them and monitor their learning progress.

We’re aware of the fact that children who don’t learn to read by age are less likely to ever reach literacy. With 182 learners in our program and 50 % of them in the primary school age group, we’re setting the stage for the majority of Pakistanis to be able to read, write and envision a hopeful future.

^[1] https://thedocs.worldbank.org/en/doc/214101571223451727-0090022019/original/SASSACPKPAKLPBRIEF.pdf

^[2] https://www.dawn.com/news/1693997

^[3] https://www.teesquare.org/about/faq/