The Brazilian Ministry of Education (MEC) recognizes Palmas as a municipality free of illiteracy.

The capital of Tocantins is among the 207 municipalities that have achieved over 96% literacy; the survey by the Ministry of Education was based on data from the IBGE Demographic Census of 2010; in Brazil, the percentage of illiterate people is 9,6%, and in Tocantins, it reaches 13,5% among the population over 15 years of age, according to the Institute for Applied Economic Research (IPEA); according to the IBGE census of 2010, the illiteracy rate of the population over 15 years of age in Palmas is 3,74%; in 2000, it was 5,82% and, in 1991, it was 17,41%.

August 12, 2014, 17:27 PMUpdated May 27, 2019, 10:11 AM

The capital of Tocantins is among the 207 municipalities that have reached over 96% literacy; the survey by the Ministry of Education was based on data from the IBGE Demographic Census of 2010; in Brazil, the percentage of illiterate people is 9,6%, and in Tocantins, it reaches 13,5% among the population over 15 years of age, according to the Institute for Applied Economic Research (IPEA); according to the IBGE census of 2010, the illiteracy rate of the population over 15 years of age in Palmas is 3,74%; in 2000, it was 5,82% and, in 1991, it was 17,41% (Photo: Aquiles Lins)

Tocantins 247 - The Ministry of Education (MEC) awarded the municipality of Palmas the "Illiteracy-Free Municipality Seal." The city is among the 207 municipalities that have achieved over 96% literacy, and with this document, the MEC recognizes the effort made, especially with young people and adults over 15 years of age.

The survey by the Ministry of Education (MEC) was based on data from the 2010 Demographic Census of the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE). To be considered free of illiteracy, a municipality needs to achieve a literacy rate of over 96%. According to the Ministry of Education, the Seal is the result of a partnership with UNESCO and is part of the Brazil Literate Program, which aims to teach literacy to young people and adults aged 15 and over.

In Brazil, the illiteracy rate is 9,6%, and in Tocantins, it reaches 13,5% among the population over 15 years of age, according to the Institute for Applied Economic Research (IPEA). According to the 2010 IBGE census, the illiteracy rate for the population over 15 years of age in Palmas is 3,74%. In 2000, it was 5,82%, and in 1991, it was 17,41%.

One of the actions taken by the department to reduce illiteracy was the implementation of the Youth and Adult Education Center in 2012, to serve young people from the age of 15 onwards using three different service strategies: EJA (Youth and Adult Education) by period, certification exam, and integrated EJA. In addition, Semed (Municipal Education Department) partners with the MEC (Ministry of Education) in the development of the Brazil Literate Program, serving an average of 230 students per year, and the National Program for the Inclusion of Young People/Projovem Urbano, which since its implementation in 2005 has served approximately 6.500 young people between 18 and 29 years of age.

According to the municipal secretary of Education, Professor Berenice Barbosa, the Seal is recognition of the actions carried out by the municipal administration in favor of Education.

Selo
The goal of the MEC (Ministry of Education) initiative is to present excellent educational systems to serve as inspiration for municipalities with low performance indicators. These systems will have to meet quality targets so that, within the next 15 years, Brazil achieves a score of six on the IDEB (Basic Education Development Index). Brazilian Basic Education currently has an average score of approximately four points – on a scale from zero to 10, taking into account student performance, grade repetition rates, and school dropout rates.