EDUCATION in Honduras
- The Honduran government made primary education obligatory and free for every child age 7-14.
- The school system begins in pre-school, then primary school (1st-6th grade), secondary school (7th grade to 11th or 12th grade), then they can attend a university (licentiate, master and doctorate).
- Hardly 32 of every 100 students finish primary school without repeating grades.
- 51% of students finish primary school, in an average of 9.4 years, and the number of dropouts increases each year.
- Only 30% of those students continue to go onto secondary school.
- Only 8% of all children enrolled in public schools continue to a university.
- So the average education level for a Honduran is the fourth grade.
- Parents tend to take children away from their education at a young age to help maintain the family farm and support the family income.
- Males are favored over females with education. The girls are the first ones to be taken out of school to help the family. It is the belief that it is easier for men to find jobs after schooling.
- Schools are so understaffed that some teachers have up to eighty children in one classroom.
- The teacher have poor training which is worsened by their extremely low wages.
- There is a lack of schools in Honduras. There are only 11 universities. The Universities and secondary schools are only located in large cities like Tegucigalpa, San Pedro Sula and Comayagüela. So the vast majority of children are deprived of education since they live far away.
- The richer people are able to send their children to private schools in which they can receive a better education.
- Many Hondurans do not value education as a solution to their poverty.
- Honduran children only learn the basics of reading, writing, and arithmetic. They are not taught nutrition or health in their classes so do not grow up with the knowledge of the basic food pyramid. So they don't know the value of a varied diet consisting of the five food groups. Knowledge of nutrition and health are a luxury.
- Literacy Rate in Honduras is 83%.
- Because of these factors, Honduras has a large amount of people who are of average intelligence or less, instead of a small amount of very educated people.
Sources:
http://www.globalexchange.org/country/honduras/education
http://www.worldfoodprize.org/documents/filelibrary/images/youth_programs/research_papers/2006_papers/ZaneTraceHS_9F36FB7E14069.pdf
http://www.globalexchange.org/country/honduras/education
http://www.worldfoodprize.org/documents/filelibrary/images/youth_programs/research_papers/2006_papers/ZaneTraceHS_9F36FB7E14069.pdf
Rural schools |
Average Public Schools |
Private Schools |
Watch the first 2 minutes to see what it's like for a Honduran child in school
How does Honduras Education Compare to Mongolia?
EDUCATION IN MONGOLIA
- Before the introduction of socialism, formal education only took place in monasteries and among government officials
- Practical skills were learned at home and passed on in the family environment.
- The country really had no organized system before the communist revolution.
- The new system is a lot like the former Soviet Union.
- Years of schooling include: Pre-school, Ten-year formal schooling (Primary, lower secondary, upper secondary), Technical education and vocational training, Higher education.
- Before 1993, education at all levels was free, now Education is free for primary, lower secondary, and upper secondary schooling.
- Primary is 4 years (enter 8-12 year old).
- Lower secondary is 4 years (enter 12-16 year old).
- Upper secondary is 2 years (enter 16-18 year old).
- Female enrollment rate in primary schooling is 50.1%.
- Instead of letter grades, they use numbers.
- Mongolian people have always valued education over other attributes and have made it their priority to educate their children.
- Literacy rate is 97%.
- In Mongolia it is more common to have small amount of highly educated people than a large amount of average intelligence.