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A powerful call to action for reading education has been published in one of Portugal’s leading newspapers, directly reinforcing the mission of the iRead4Skills project.

In an opinion piece titled “Ler para pensar: a competência que ainda falta” published in Expresso, Regina dos Santos Duarte, Commissioner of the National Reading Plan (PNL), articulates a fundamental challenge for Portuguese society. She posits that amidst the focus on digital and financial literacy, the core competency of deep reading comprehension remains the critical, yet undervalued, foundation.

The article, featured in the December 9th edition, serves as a significant public intervention. Duarte argues that the ability to analyse, infer, and evaluate complex texts is the essential cognitive infrastructure upon which all other modern literacies depend. She cites sobering international data, noting that only about 5% of Portuguese 15-year-olds reach the highest levels of reading comprehension, which require critical evaluation and complex inference.

This public commentary aligns with the work of iRead4Skills. Duarte’s identified solutions, explicit, systematic teaching of comprehension strategies and the intensified promotion of reading, are central pillars of our project’s approach to building critical literacy skills.

The Commissioner’s op-éd lends considerable weight to the national conversation on literacy. By framing advanced reading comprehension as a prerequisite for economic competitiveness, social cohesion, and democratic participation, she elevates it to a strategic national priority.

The full opinion piece (in Portuguese) is available on Expresso’s website and is essential reading for all stakeholders in education and literacy development. It provides a compelling, expert-backed rationale for the innovative work being done by initiatives like iRead4Skills.

Read the full opinion piece here: https://expresso.pt/opiniao/2025-12-09-ler-para-pensar-a-competencia-que-ainda-falta-3ebe8cbe