Poverty is a root cause of low literacy, and low literacy is related to negative outcomes including increased education costs, higher crime rates, poorer overall health and a higher rate of dependence on publicly subsidized programs.
In 2018, the adult literacy rate for Ghana was 79 percent. According to the 2021 Census report released by the Ghana Statistical Service, 30.2 percent of individuals “6 years and older” are not literate in any language and it’s higher among females (34.4%) than males (25.9%). The illiteracy rate among the females in Ghana is more pronounced in the rural areas of the country. Across the three age brackets (6 years and older, 11 years and older, and 15 years and older), about half of females in rural areas are not literate in any language compared to a little over a third of males.
Reading is a great motivation for an individual to do better in life. The more an individual reads, the more his/her understanding and comprehending skills improve. The better a reader, the easier it becomes for him/her to maintain a job role with assigned work. The habit of reading is correlated with the attainment of knowledge. Increasingly, new research across many countries is showing that the best predictor of future education achievement and life success is reading ability.
The cost of illiteracy anywhere is enormous and libraries are essential to learning. The link between literacy and improved livelihood outcomes is very clear. To improve reading and learning, efforts must be targeted and strategically applied. By providing libraries and technology- based interactive learning, child literacy will improve across the board for all children in spite of their learning capabilities.