A lot of rubbish. Reading skills do not in and of themselves provide motivation. If anything reading skill are obtained through motivation. This idiot has cause and effect reversed. Literacy and intelligence are two utterly different things. A motivated and intelligent person will overcome the obstacles presented by illiteracy.
Reading and writing are the narrowest forms of literacy. Comprehension and communication are the broadest forms. There are plenty of literate lazy incompetent peoples. There are many examples intelligent hard working people who are unable to read or write.
Article says “basics and essentials, especially reading.” In other words, the article is talking about elementary education, or lack thereof. Traditionally, children in elementary school learned reading, writing, arithmetic, geography, history, science, etc.