We all pay for low literacy of children

The lack of literacy among children at the beginning of education harms society as a whole and comes at a price. This is the result of research carried out over the years by the British branch of the KPMG Foundation. As part of the "Every Child a Reader" project, specialists calculated that the cost of one poorly-reading adult is up to £64,000 per year, spent from the state budget. The cost of an entire year of students who cannot read well and grow up without strengthening their literacy? Up to £2.5 billion a year. The problem with insufficient reading skills also applies to Polish children.

The effects of reading and writing problems generate a number of social costs. Firstly, they are related to the need to support children with difficulties in school, consultations with a psychologist, or later adult reading and writing classes. The next and second-largest cost category is employment. A poorly-reading child is a potential adult who does not generate tax revenues for the state because he has problems with keeping a stable job. Instead, it requires support, for example by paying unemployment benefits. Other payments that the experts have included in the balance of losses are costs related to social care, health care, and… justice.

“These are, of course, an estimate that might be slightly different today. The authors of the report based on the current economic situation in 2009 and the data available at that time. However, the mechanism has not changed, and the main conclusion drawn from the report will always be relevant – low reading and writing skills among children will always generate costs for society as a whole. And what the British calculated at home applies to other societies: Polish society also pays a huge price (calculated in zlotys!) for too low reading skills among its fellow citizens,” Maria Deskur, head of the publishing house Słowne (formerly Burda Books), commented.

(WBJ)