Over 246,000 Students Do Not Receive Classes in Honduras

A survey conducted by the local outlet "El Heraldo Plus" revealed that over 246,000 students are excluded from the educational system in Honduras due to a lack of resources to access online classes amid the pandemic.

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The Secretary of Education (SE) revealed that 246,356 students had not enrolled in the 2021 school year in both the public and private sectors as compared to the previous year.

Furthermore, 290,050 students dropped classes out in the last two years because they did not have access to technology. They represent 14.8 percent of the country's educational population. 

El Heraldo visited several communities where it was evident the lack of Internet, cell phones, tablets, and educational materials for children.

The departments with the highest dropout rates are Cortes (20.3 percent), Comayagua (16.4 percent), Lempira (14.7 percent), and Copan (14.1 percent).

"I took my daughter out of school because it is silly that she attends classes at home. We do not have money for Internet, teachers demand a lot of homework. Kids are not learning and we are poor," a mother claimed. 

As of Apr. 14, the SE enrolled 1,676,006 students, 1,446,805 of whom are in public schools and 229,201 in the private sector. The outlet evinced that students who do not receive classes go to work with their parents or stay on the streets without observing COVID-19 health preventive measures.

"My children have not received classes at all this year because Internet is needed on a daily basis and people have no money. There is no work and I feel sorry for the kids because they are losing the year," another interviewee said.