It is about the empowerment of the spirit, the informing of judgement, the development of skill and understand ing, fulfilment of citizenship. Above all, literacy is a prerequisite for the achievement of true equality in a country that remains viciously segmented by educational deprivation even when the apparatus of discriminatory laws has been swept away. Everyone has the right to choose their profession freely. Everyone has the right to privacy. In today's society the word has no power if it cannot be written or read.
Every citizen has the right to choose their profession freely.
If slavery is the lack of choice, then slavery once more is imposed upon the illiterate. Everyone has the right to have access to adequate housing. It ought to be doubly disturbing because the social effects of illiteracy are so predictably passed from one generation to another, especially in conditions of poverty. There are many exceptions, of course, but it is sadly true that the children of poverty -stricken and illiterate South Africans are more likely to be caught in the trap of poor education and poor economic prospects. The consequences are inescapable.