According to the Honduran constitution, children should receive at least 200 days of class each year. In 2009, ASJ started advocating for the government to fulfill the right of Honduran children to receive the number of school days that the law stipulates. At that time, most people did not know that children should have at least 200 days of school. Through our persistent advocacy, we increased awareness not only for the Honduran public but also for education authorities. From the years 2002-2012, children only received an average of 120 days of school per year. Although Honduras had the highest budget for education in all of Latin America, it had the lowest test scores. This means it was investing the most out of neighboring countries, but reaping the lowest results. Our work, in collaboration with community partners, resulted in an increase of school days from 2013-2018, when children received an average of 218 days of school per year. 

Our work to improve the public education system in Honduras not only focuses on the quantity of school days but also on the quality of the education children should receive. One prominent issue we identified back in 2009 was the alarming rate of “ghost teachers” in the system. A “ghost teacher” was a person who would show up on the public education system roster and payroll as an active staff member, but who in reality would not show up to work at their assigned location. Our nationwide network of volunteers led our efforts to conduct social audits to determine which teachers were showing up and which had abandoned their posts. With the data we collected, we presented proposals to the authorities with recommendations to decrease the number of ghost teachers and increase fair hiring opportunities for teachers who were qualified for the open positions. This, in conjunction with the increased number of school days, resulted in an improvement of standardized test scores by 20% as soon as the year 2013, and a reduction of ghost teachers from 26% in 2010 to less than 1% in 2018.

The Covid-19 pandemic was a difficult time for everyone, and all areas of life were affected by it. In Honduras, it was no different. Many of the public, government-run systems collapsed, causing considerable hardship for those Hondurans who, due to their vulnerable circumstances, depended solely on these systems. The public education system experienced challenges it was not ready to face. While in other countries schools closed for about six months, schools in Honduras remained closed for 28 months. During this time, children were supposed to receive  instruction remotely; however, 70% of children in Honduras do not have access to the internet resulting in a total loss of learning.  Schools opened back up in 2022 with the laborious challenge to recover from the setbacks and losses caused and exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Even during the pandemic, ASJ continued to work for Honduran children’s right to a good education. Our community partners all over the country persistently recorded the conditions of the public education system. When children returned to their classrooms in 2022, they received an alarmingly low number of 97 days of school. Our team designed a tracking tool, accessible to the general public, that compiles the days-of-class data that our volunteers around the country send us. This platform has become an important reference tool that holds the authorities accountable to improve the quality of public education. Although government authorities seemed reluctant at first, we have seen clear indications that our advocacy is being heard by those who have the power to enact change. 

A key indicator of reaching the 200-days-of-school goal is starting school on time. The Honduran school year runs February through November, but historically public education authorities would allow the start of the school year to be delayed until late February or even mid-March resulting in a loss of 25-30 days before the first day of school even began. For example, in 2023 classes didn't begin until March 6 resulting in kids missing 25 days right at the start of the year. We worked diligently with the Minister of Education to avoid this from happening again. This year, for the first time in a long time, the school year started right on February 1st. High-profile authorities, including President Xiomara Castro and her Minister of Education, kicked off the school year and encouraged children to go to school.

In addition to starting the school year on time, our advocacy has also included calling for a more effective system to distribute school lunches. Public schools are responsible for providing one meal per student each day. For families experiencing extreme poverty, this meal is one of the most important factors in encouraging parents to send their children to school. It represents one less meal to worry about and children who have eaten are more likely to learn and stay in school.  When school lunches are not provided, enrollment rates go down. This year,  we worked diligently with education authorities to advocate for school lunches showing up every day. It required creative thinking about infrastructure, food storage, and delivery. In an unprecedented improvement that we have never witnessed before, school lunches were delivered on day one of class and have continued to show up. Throughout the year, we have continued to monitor the distribution of school lunches. Our goal is not only that children show up to school, we also want them to stay, receive a meal and a good quality education. 

Earlier in the year, one of the government officials in the Ministry of Education, upset at our persistent advocacy, claimed that “only ignorant people think that the number of days of school determines the quality of education.” Although we strongly believe that the number of school days received does matter very much, we do agree that the number alone does not guarantee that children are learning well. The environment, the materials being used, and the qualifications of those teaching are also extremely important factors that contribute to the overall success of children in public schools. 

Our work this year has included strong advocacy for new textbooks to be printed and distributed nationwide, since the last time textbooks were printed and sent to public schools was in 2016. In addition, the content of those textbooks has not been updated since 2010. This means that children have been utilizing outdated materials in the classroom if they have any at all. After presenting a number of proposals to the Ministry of Education, a higher budget for textbooks was approved by the Honduran Congress earlier this year. Our volunteers and team will maintain a close monitoring of the process and remain engaged to ensure children receive the textbooks they need to learn well.  

In addition to textbooks, we have also identified the need for appropriate learning spaces and qualified teachers. We have been encouraging authorities to increase the budget for building new schools and repairing those that need it.  We have also called for more and better training opportunities for teachers to expand their professional knowledge.