First Salvadoran Municipality to Be Declared Free of Illiteracy

San Salvador, Dec 19. -The Salvadoran municipality of Comacaran, in eastern El Salvador, will be declared the first municipality free of illiteracy, as a result of the local government´s educational programs.The celebration of the symbolic activity was announced by Salvadoran Vicepresident and Education Minister Salvador Sanchez Ceren.

Sanchez Ceren informed that Comacaran, 99.4 miles east of the capital, will be followed by another three municipalities: Azacualpa, San Antonio Los Ranchos and San Francisco Lempa, from the northern department of Chalatenango.

In a speech on December 5, Sanchez said the proclamations are the result of the 2009-2014 Social Education Plan "Vamos a La Escuela" (Let´s Go to School) and the National Literacy Program.

The program started last year when, according to data from the Ministry of Education, 17.9 percent of the population (650,000 people over 15 years of age) did not know how to read or write.

This indicator could be reduced to 4 percent by 2014, when the current government will leave office.

Sanchez said that in order to accomplish this task, El Salvador counts on 16,338 voluntary teachers who will teach 63,568 youths and adults.

A total of 50,772 of these people are now in the first level of learning, and 12,796 are continuing their studies. (Prensa Latina)