This is a pretty worrying issue.
Guardian : 12m workers have reading age of children
WSWS : One in five British adults have serious problems reading and counting
Naturally, only Ireland and Poland do worse in Europe; not surprising as they are the two most religious European countries, and poor education has always had a very strong correlation with religiosity.
Guardian : 12m workers have reading age of children
Guardian said:Up to 16 million adults - nearly half the workforce - are holding down jobs despite having the reading and writing skills expected of children leaving primary school, a new report reveals today.
WSWS : One in five British adults have serious problems reading and counting
WSWS said:A report published by the Blair Labour government on Thursday has revealed high levels of illiteracy and innumeracy amongst Britain's population. Seven million adults in Britain have serious problems with reading and maths skills, a bigger proportion than in any other country in Europe apart from Poland and Ireland.
Two million can barely read or add up at all. One in five cannot find a plumber in the Yellow Pages phone directory. One in three cannot calculate the area of a room that is 21 by 14 feet and one in four cannot work out the change they should receive from £2 when they buy goods worth £1.35.
Naturally, only Ireland and Poland do worse in Europe; not surprising as they are the two most religious European countries, and poor education has always had a very strong correlation with religiosity.