Most people learn to read and write at a very young age. This capability continues with them throughout their lives, unless there are serious issues with eyesight etc. Apart from the formal studies required by students, people read for all kinds of reasons. Some read for business, some read for pleasure, while some read purely out of necessity.
The process of reading involves the eyes through which the written or printed matter is seen, and the mind which analyzes and makes sense of what the eyes are reading. For the mind to comprehend the matter, it is necessary for eyesight as well as brain functions to be normal.
The capabilities to read, write, and speak are necessary for most functions required in today’s environment. Out of these, the capability to read is perhaps the most important and basic requirement. During the earlier days, when literacy levels were not so high in many regions, people were merely able to speak a language, since the skills of reading and writing did not exist at a broad level. With increasing levels of education, and the widening of the reach of education in all societies, the capabilities to read and write have become increasingly important. There are awareness campaigns conducted in many countries to make the illiterate elders come out and learn the skills of reading and writing. Many of these campaigns achieve a good success, since they are able to motivate people to even study at late hours after finishing their responsibilities for the day. Awareness is a prime motivator that makes people do many things which they would otherwise not be interested in.
A basic awareness of how reading skills can improve the daily life is enough to grasp the attention of many illiterate people, and they are very keen to learn. This is a great encouragement for their governments who can then deploy more resources in terms of teachers and money to carry the literacy campaign forward with increased vigor. It is a matter of pride for any government if a larger percentage of their population is fully literate.
