In the media
Learning crisis affects developing countries - An interview with Lant Pritchett


Helsingin Sanomat, 4 November 2015

“Learning crisis has had a dramatic impact on the economies of developing countries” says Lant Pritchett, UNU-WIDER Non-Resident Senior Research Fellow and Annual Lecturer 16 (2012). Pritchett was interviewed during the UNU-WIDER’s 30th Conference titled ‘Mapping the Future of Development Economics’ in Helsinki by Helsingin Sanomat, the largest subscription newspaper in Finland.

In the interview Pritchett concludes that paradoxically the expansion of the education sector has not resulted in enhanced economic growth. “I think one of the reasons behind this is that children are pushed through the school without learning anything,” Pritchett says. He argues that focusing on the numeric measures such as the number of children in school has overlooked the actual objectives of learning skills and building capacities.

Read full article (in Finnish)

Learning crisis affects developing countries (Oppimiskriisi painaa kehitysmaita)