The literacy crisis hiding behind the AI boom
The author highlights a growing literacy crisis in India, where students are advancing through grades without mastering foundational reading and writing skills. This gap is leading students to rely on AI tools to complete written tasks they are unable to perform themselves.
Why it matters
It raises concerns about the long-term impact of educational gaps and the potential for AI to mask, rather than solve, fundamental learning deficiencies.
“Miss, idooo nange barodilla ( Miss, I don’t know this),” said a class 6 student, who lives in a nearby shanty on the road. The text in front of him was a class 5 English poem. He had technically passed, despite failing to score passing grades in Math, Kannada, Urdu, and English. His younger sister, heading into class 4, pulled up a chair beside him, eager to get a headstart on English. I found the same problem with her. I began explaining the meanings in Hindi and Kannada, hoping to bridge the gap between what they knew and what was on the page. They looked at me apologetically. They could not read or write in either language.
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