Brasília, January 22, 2003 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - The Federal University of Sergipe (UFSE) is heading up a campaign that intends to eliminate illiteracy in the state within three years and can serve as a model for other universities in Brazil. The project, which has been in execution since 1997 and has brought literacy to 50 thousand Sergipe residents, was presented yesterday (21) by the president of the UFSE, José Fernandes de Lima, to the Minister of Education, Cristovam Buarque.

Lima demonstrated the costs, the increase in the number of instructors from 250 to 1,500, and the proposal to pay each literacy student R$ 40 per month for five months, the period of time it should take to become able to read and write. There are 300 thousand illiterate citizens in the state, in a total population of 1.7 million. 50 thousand of the illiterates live in the area surrounding the capital, Aracaju, and 250 thousand live in the interior of the state. The plan is to provide literacy training to more people, increasing the number of classrooms and stipends for instructors.

Members of the Ministry's technical staff will travel to Sergipe next week to acquire more knowledge about the project. (DAS)