ACROSS the globe, the ability to read with understanding is recognised as a core foundation of education, human dignity and lifelong opportunity. Yet in many low- and middle-income countries, despite major progress in schooling access, reading proficiency remains tragically low. A new evidence synthesis published by the World Bank, in collaboration with the Global Education Evidence Advisory Panel, concludes that around seven in ten children in low- and middle-income countries cannot read and understand a simple text by the end of primary school. This crisis demands more than aspiration: it calls for a radical rethink of how reading is taught, and what systems must do to support evidence-based instruction.
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Scale of the problem
WHILE access to schooling is improving across many low- and middle-income countries, reading outcomes have not kept pace. Data from more than 500,000 students across 48 such countries revealed that after three years of schooling, over 90 per cent of children may not identify letter names, associate sounds with letters, or read simple words as expected. Further research published in Nature Human Behaviour identified inadequate foundational decoding skills as a central constraint for literacy in low- and middle-income countries, with children not acquiring crucial letter-sound mappings, thereby undermining later reading comprehension. These findings underline a blunt truth: getting children into school is no longer enough. Without effective reading instruction, schooling fails its core purpose.
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Core skills
THE evidence identifies two broad domains that any reading-instruction programme must address: decoding (the recognition of written symbols and their conversion into sounds/words) and language comprehension (understanding meaning, vocabulary, sentence and text comprehension). Within these domains the research outlines specific sub-skills: oral language development (listening, speaking, vocabulary), phonological awareness (identifying/manipulating sounds in spoken language), systematic phonics instruction (teaching letter-sound relationships and blending), reading fluency (accurate, automatic reading), reading comprehension strategies (monitoring, summarising, building background knowledge) and writing skills (letter formation, spelling, composition) which reinforce reading. Collectively, this evidence challenges instructional models that rely on children 鈥榝iguring it out鈥� themselves, emphasising instead explicit, systematic, sequential instruction.
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Evidence-based practices
THE key message emerging from the synthesis is that explicit and systematic instruction in the foundational components of reading leads to meaningful gains and is cost-effective for code-challenged systems. For example, systematic phonics programmes show larger effect sizes when compared to less structured approaches in low- and middle-income countries. Similarly, interventions that combine phonics with oral language and rich reading practice demonstrate strong impact. Crucially, these instructional practices matter in low- and middle-income country contexts as much as in high-income ones: the science of reading applies across languages and systems, though adaptation to local context is essential.
From a systems perspective, successful reading instruction in low- and middle-income countries depends not only on classroom practices but also on teacher preparation, instructional materials, assessment systems and continuous professional development. Therefore, countries must make national commitments to effective reading instruction, select appropriate languages of instruction, deliver instruction across all six core skills, adapt instruction to local language characteristics and support teachers with structured, ongoing professional development.
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Challenges
MANY countries struggle to translate the evidence into classroom reality. First, teachers often lack confidence or preparation in delivering systematic phonics or structured reading programmes. This is a major barrier to literacy improvement. Second, instructional time and intensity matter: children need ample time and scaffolded practice in reading, but in many contexts class sizes, teacher turnover and resource constraints inhibit this. Third, language of instruction issues complicates reading acquisition. In multilingual settings where children learn to read in a language different from their home language, reading acquisition is slower. High-quality mother-tongue instruction can yield gains. Fourth, material and infrastructure constraints 鈥� limited books, outdated curricula, weak assessment systems 鈥� mean that even when good instruction design exists, scaling it remains difficult. Finally, system-level issues such as weak monitoring, fragmented governance and lack of accountability prevent sustained implementation of effective reading instruction.
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Policy and practice
GIVEN this evidence, low- and middle-income countries should design reading-instruction reform around three strategic pillars: high-quality instruction, effective systems support and learner-centred responsiveness.
On instruction, countries should adopt curricula that emphasise the six core reading sub-skills, implemented in early grades. Instruction must be explicit and systematic: children should not be expected to 鈥榙iscover鈥� how to read. Materials (workbooks, decodables, guided reading texts) and lesson sequencing should reflect this pedagogic design. Teacher professional development must focus on instruction of reading specifically, not generic teaching skills, and include ongoing coaching, classroom observation and feedback. Frequent, routine assessment of foundational reading sub-skills (eg, phoneme identification, pseudoword decoding) will enable tracking progress and timely remediation.
On systems support, reading-instruction reforms must be embedded in national policy and monitoring frameworks. Governments should establish reading-led benchmarks and require all schools to adhere to them. Investment in instructional materials, classroom resources and a book-rich environment is essential. Governance structures must unify policy, curriculum, teacher development and assessment across agencies. For example, many low- and middle-income countries currently have multiple ministries or agencies responsible for reading and literacy, leading to fragmentation. Strong coordination and accountability mechanisms are required.
Learner-centred responsiveness demands adaptation to local language environments, linguistic diversity and learner backgrounds. The evidence underscores that these foundational reading sub-skills are universal, but their implementation must respond to specific language demands (alphabetic v non-alphabetic scripts, home language v instruction language, multilingual settings). Additionally, disadvantaged populations (girls, children with disabilities, marginalised communities) often face compounded barriers; reading-instruction reform must incorporate inclusive pedagogy, assistive technologies and careful attention to equity.
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Opportunities and implications
BANGLADESH offers an illustrative case of both the challenges and opportunities of reading-instruction reform in a low- and middle-income countries context. The country has made strong progress in expanding schooling access and gender parity in enrolment, yet reading proficiency remains low: many children complete several years of school without being able to read age-appropriate text. The global evidence is relevant and urgent for Bangladesh. It highlights that children do not learn to read simply by attending school; they must be explicitly taught how to decode text and to comprehend meaning.
For Bangladesh, aligning national reading programmes with the evidence means revisiting early grade reading curricula and introducing systematic phonics, phonological awareness and fluency interventions. Teacher preparation must shift from generalist approaches to specialist reading-instruction competencies, supported with coaching, supervised practice and assessment of reading sub-skills. Assessments such as the Early Grade Reading Assessment could be scaled routinely to monitor foundational reading skills and drive remedial support. Further, Bangladesh鈥檚 multilingual realities (with many children speaking Bangla dialects, indigenous languages or even English as a second language) demand materials and instruction aligned to learners鈥� linguistic environments. This means recognising that reading instruction in Bangla must be structured, sequenced and supported by rich texts, reading practice and remediation for children entering Grade 1 without strong oral language skills. Language policy, home language instruction pilot models and inclusive pedagogy must become part of reform.
In practice, strengthening reading instruction in Bangladesh is not just about school-based reform but links to broader development goals: literacy underpins success in secondary and tertiary education, TVET participation, employability and lifelong learning. By addressing foundational literacy early, Bangladesh can reduce grade repetition, drop-out and remedial burdens, thereby improving equity and economic outcomes. Adaptation of global evidence to Bangladesh鈥檚 context 鈥� including providing reading-rich environments, targeted support for marginalised children, and investment in teachers and materials 鈥� offers a pathway to dramatically improve reading outcomes, increase human capital and support the country鈥檚 development ambitions.
The literacy crisis in low- and middle-income countries is real and urgent, but the evidence gives us a clear path forward. Reading instruction must be deliberate, structured and supported by effective systems, not left to chance or hope. For countries like Bangladesh, this means translating access into achievement, and schooling into success. By embracing the evidence 鈥� adopting curricula with explicit instruction in decoding and comprehension, preparing teachers as specialist reading instructors, adapting programmes to local language realities and building system-wide support through monitoring and accountability 鈥� learning outcomes can shift substantially. The cost of inaction is high: children who cannot read are locked out of opportunity, impoverished education investment, and diminished futures. Yet the gains from effective reading instruction are equally significant; accelerating learning, reducing inequity and unlocking the potential of entire generations. The evidence shows what works; the challenge now is to act.
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Musharraf Tansen听 is a doctoral researcher at the University of Dhaka