Experts say a pandemic-induced economic shock and the closing of schools for more than a year has been a devastating blow for many of Indonesia's 68 million students.

It also threatens to undermine Indonesian President Joko Widodo's plan to create a top five global economy by 2045 driven by a skilled workforce.

"Indonesia had a major learning crisis prior to the pandemic, and our model indicates that it has gotten much worse," Noah Yarrow, an education specialist at the World Bank and co-author of a report released on Friday, told Reuters.

Read the full Reuters story here.