A statement that governments in the South Asia region are increasingly distancing themselves from adult literacy drew comment from some experts in education and health that it is "too sweeping" and should not be aired without adequate references and data to substantiate it. The arguments in support of the verities of adult literacy and learning--that it is a right, that it has a value beyond itself, that it also has instrumental value, that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, that it is good for the individual as well as the nation, and so on--are unlikely to require substantial debate among the converted. However, the debate over "literacy" versus "literacies" continues, and the linking of literacy with development appears to some to be an abrogation of the human rights perspective. (Contains 2 notes.)