Despite better access to education, many adults today still cannot read or write. In what ways are they disadvantaged? What can governments do to help them?
Even as educational access expands globally, millions of adults remain illiterate, facing severe multi-dimensional disadvantages, and targeted government interventions are critical to addressing this issue.
Illiterate adults face two core disadvantages. First, they are systematically excluded from formal economic opportunities. Most stable, living-wage jobs require basic literacy to complete applications, read safety guidelines, or follow work instructions, confining illiterate people to precarious, low-paid informal work, such as day labour or domestic work, with no upward mobility. For example, in rural India, illiterate farm workers are often cheated by contractors who underpay them, as they cannot read written wage agreements. Second, illiteracy erodes personal autonomy and access to essential services. Illiterate adults cannot read medicine labels, road signs, banking documents, or public health notices, leaving them vulnerable to exploitation, medical errors, and exclusion from social welfare. During the COVID-19 pandemic, for instance, many illiterate adults in Southeast Asia could not read public guidance on masking and vaccine registration, putting their health at severe risk.
Governments can take three targeted measures to support this group. First, they should fund free, flexible adult literacy programmes tailored to working adults, offering classes in community centres or workplaces outside standard working hours, rather than forcing adults to attend rigid school-based courses. Second, governments can introduce practical, life-centred curricula that teach high-priority literacy skills first, such as reading medicine labels, filling out benefit forms, or counting money, rather than generic academic content, to keep learners engaged. Third, governments can offer small financial incentives, such as grocery vouchers or waived public service fees, to encourage consistent attendance, as many illiterate adults cannot afford to take time off unpaid work to study.
In conclusion, adult illiteracy creates entrenched economic and social vulnerability, but accessible, practical government-run programmes can effectively reduce this gap.
这是一道雅思大作文典型的“问题+解决方案”双问题题型，写作需要严格回应两个核心提问，结构清晰且扣题。