For 25 years, state military schools in Goiás have been a model for the country

Launched in the 1990s — more than 20 years before the federal government instituted the national program of civic-military schools —, the model of State Colleges of the Military Police of Goiás (CEPMGs) already defended that having discipline is the key to an education successful. After all, “there is no learning without discipline”, believes teacher Paula Nogueira.

Pedagogical manager of the Military State College of Goiás (CEPMG) Dr. Cesar Toledo, in the city of Anápolis (GO), she has been working in partnership with the military since 2009 and says that their presence at school influences the commitment of students. “Being in a disciplined class makes the student develop more responsibility, and the evaluations of our institution show this”, reports the educator, citing the grades obtained in the Basic Education Development Index (Ideb), an indicator used to measure the quality of an education network.

“Before the pandemic, in 2019, we reached 6.3 in secondary education and the mark of 7.5 in elementary education, which was the highest value in the state”. In addition, even with the difficulties during the Covid-19 pandemic, which changed classes to the online and hybrid model, the school received a score of 6.8 in elementary school and 6.0 in high school, indices that correspond to the system regular education in developed countries.

According to the Teaching Command of the Military Police of Goiás, these results prove the efficiency of this education model, since another 32 institutions in the program also achieved a grade of 6.0 or more for Elementary Education, and almost 90% of the schools in the network surpassed the target established by the federal government: 5.3. “Of the 64 schools we had until 2021, 47 also beat the country’s target for high school, which was 4.9”, celebrates Captain Rogério Santos Silva.

Head of the Pedagogical Control Division, he explains that military schools have the best IDEB grades in Goiás and, as they are subordinated to the State Department of Education (Seduc-GO), they directly influence the growth of the state’s grade, which started with 3 .3 in elementary school, in 2005, and reached the target of 5.3, in 2021.

“We had only six military units and we increased the number to 13, 20, 30, 50, and the Ideb of Goiás grew gradually”, informs the captain. “Today we serve almost 20% of students from the state network in our 76 schools, and this is a strong indication that as we increase the number of military schools, we improve the state’s Ideb”.

According to data from the federal government, Goiás obtained the highest index in Brazil in the years 2013, 2017 and 2019, losing this position in 2021. That year, the leadership of the ranking went to Paraná, which also values ​​civic-military education, with 206 military colleges.

More results from military state colleges

And there are other positive results from this teaching model, according to the Goiás State Department of Education (Seduc-GO). In addition to growth at Ideb, CEPMGs stand out in Olympics and knowledge shows, winning awards such as the gold medal at the Brazilian Public School Physics Olympiad (OBFEP), in May of this year, and several medals in the 2022 edition.

There are also high approval rates in entrance exams, improvement in the school environment, more care with property and a significant reduction in drug use and violence rates. “This has been noticed since the implementation of our first units, starting in 1998, in areas known for high crime rates, where the situation has changed with the strong presence of the Military Police in schools”, informs Colonel Luciano Magalhães.

Teaching Commander of the Goiás Military Police, he explains that strong, shared and participative management is one of the reasons for such success. “This combined with a clear and rigid discipline, with a single school regiment adopted in all our units”.

In this regiment there are norms referring to uniform regulation, personal presentation, respect for colleagues and in relation to the authority of the teacher, who “is placed as the main protagonist within the institution”, because “where there is discipline, there is result”, defends the colonel.

In addition, the routine in civic-military institutions is also standardized. Activities begin with daily training, in queues divided by grade and class in the school gym, to receive guidance. There is also the rescue of civic and patriotic values, such as the singing of the National Anthem, Anthem of Goiás, Anthem of the Flag, and inspection of uniforms, which are donated by the state government to all students.

After this moment of opening of school actions, everyone goes to the classroom with the regular subjects presented by teachers appointed by the Department of Education (Seduc). In other words, “the general direction of the schools is carried out by a PM officer, but civilians fill the vacancies in the pedagogical part, coordination, secretariat, lunch and general services”, explains Magalhães, also citing the offer of numerous activities after school hours, such as tutoring and sports.

For this, there is a partnership between the Secretariat of Public Security and Seduc, so that the administration and discipline of the unit are tasks of the Teaching Command of the Military Police of Goiás, and the pedagogical part remains with the Secretary of State for Education .

“This division makes all the difference within the pedagogical context, and today our schools have queues”, says the colonel, adding that the state government has already started to manage seven civic-military colleges of the federal model installed in Goiás and will open others 10 units to increase the number of vacancies.

“Today, we have 76 schools and 80,000 students, but we will reach 86 units with 90,000 students by the beginning of 2024”.