Governments around the world justifiably focus their resources on the education on younger generations.However, the presence of illiterate adults in even arguably the most developed nations such as the US has heightened public interest in whether more money should be spent on helping those people learn to read and write. I strongly believe that this is a worthwhile endeavor as it benefits not only the recipients but also the country as a whole.
Firstly, adults who are not able to read and write are faced with tremendous difficulties in both personal and professional life as literacy courses provide them with necessary knowledge and skills to overcome such problems. For example, participants of these classes will no longer feel helpless when they need to read a piece of story for their children before bed or write an email to their friends. Similarly, they will no longer be deprived of promotion opportunities at work solely on the basis of their literacy skills, or the lack of thereof. The provision of adult education, thus, liberates individuals with low-literacy levels and empowers them to succeed both personally and professionally.
Besides this, countries deciding to invest more in adult education also reap financial rewards. This is because a better educated workforce can act as a precursor to fostering economic growth, as seen in Vietnam, where a causal link between the crusade to eradicate illiteracy in the 1980s and economic development was found. Furthermore, literate parents are repeatedly found to be better at rearing their children so investing in adult education will produce better-raised children. The corollary of this investment would be a sustainable economy and a better society.
In conclusion, giving access to education for illiterate adults is a sensible and economically sound initiative and therefore should be adopted more widely.