There is a growing trend where considerable proportion of adults remain unable to read or write. While this can be largely attributed to poverty, early entry into the workplace, poor quality or limited access to education in childhood, I believe that the problem can be effectively addressed by free and flexible adult literacy programs.
One compelling reason for a lack of adults’ knowledge can be early entry into the workplace. With many individuals from low-income backgrounds forced to leave school at a young age and support their families financially, they miss out on basic literacy education. The consequences of this are not confined to remaining illiterate into adulthood but also extend to failure in school-related exams, ultimately devastating future careers. This is exemplified by China, where numerous people are uneducated because of the poverty.
Another factor contributing to this issue would be poor quality and limited access to education. Since some schools suffer from a lack of trained teachers and learning materials, these shortcomings prevent children from developing essential reading and writing skills during their formative years. Consequently, this not only limits their academic performance but also increases the likelihood of unemployment and poverty in adulthood. Therefore, limited access and poor quality can be the most driving forces behind why many people are non-literate.
To address the growing concern of individuals’ illiteracy, it is imperative for government to take a decisive action by publicly funding basic education programs. Given that most people are not capable of reading and writing, establishing free evening classes, community learning centers, and online courses specifically designed for adults will counteract this by allowing them to improve their literacy skills while continuing to work. Take IBRAT academy platform as a notable example, that has a lot of lessons related to language learning and free of charge. Thus,implementing these measures will tackle the root cause of people’s difficulties in reading and writing.
In conclusion, although poverty and poor quality can be primary reasons that drive significant number of people to be unable to read or write, creating interactive and flexible literacy programs can deal with this ever-increasing issue.