While the Lore Panel did say that most of Eorzea is illiterate... I'd like to point out all the posters and flyers laying about that have writing. And all the quests that have you bringing notes/letters to people, and there is only ONE NPC that I've ever encountered that has said "Sorry, I can't read, can you read it to me?"
Formal education in many places was historically (yes, yes, I'm going to go there and make a Real World comparison!) for the privileged/upper-class and the religious -- children of poor families were often turned over/pledged to churches for a chance of education. If you were middle-class, you got vocational education, which did include a certain amount of knowing how to read, write, and maths for ledger work and taking orders. Lower-class, you might know what your name looks like and maybe a prayer or two; MAYBE over the course of your lifetime you'd self-teach to recognize fixed signs (name of town living in, types of shops).
Formal education in many places was historically (yes, yes, I'm going to go there and make a Real World comparison!) for the privileged/upper-class and the religious -- children of poor families were often turned over/pledged to churches for a chance of education. If you were middle-class, you got vocational education, which did include a certain amount of knowing how to read, write, and maths for ledger work and taking orders. Lower-class, you might know what your name looks like and maybe a prayer or two; MAYBE over the course of your lifetime you'd self-teach to recognize fixed signs (name of town living in, types of shops).
