Training
Honduran children start school at the age of six. The nine-year compulsory school is compulsory and free of charge. Virtually all children start school and two out of three pupils choose to continue to the three-year high school, which is voluntary and free of charge.
Honduras has many vocational schools with technical education. There are also 13 universities and colleges.
- COUNTRYAAH: Country facts of Honduras, including geography profile, population statistics, and business data.
Despite government investment in education during the first decade of the 21st century, the quality of schooling remains low. The school system is bureaucratic, there is a shortage of school materials, and poorly developed infrastructure makes it difficult for children to get to school.
- Topmbadirectory: Offers information about politics, geography, and known people in Honduras.
FACTS – EDUCATION
Proportion of children starting primary school
83.3 percent (2017)
Number of pupils per teacher in primary school
26 (2017)
Reading and writing skills
89.0 percent (2016)
Public expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP
21.7 percent (2017)
Public expenditure on education as a percentage of the state budget
21.7 percent (2017)
2018
November
Seven convicts for murder of environmental activist
November 29th
Seven people are convicted of the murder of environmental activist Berta Cáceres (see March 2016 and October 2017). Among them is a senior leader and a security manager for the energy company Desa, who was behind a hydroelectric project against which Cáceres led protests. The others who are being killed are a military and four people who should have been hired as contract killers. Former President Roberto David Castillo Mejía has not yet been brought to justice (see March 2018).
President’s brother arrested in the United States
November 26th
Prosecutors in New York say they prosecuted President’s brother Juan Antonio Hernández for narcotics and weapons offenses and for providing false information. “Tony” Hernández, who was arrested a few days earlier in Florida, is accused of leading extensive smuggling of cocaine into the United States between 2004 and 2016, in collaboration with smugglers in Colombia, Honduras and Mexico. US prosecutors are conducting a series of lawsuits against Honduran politicians and their relatives for involvement in drug smuggling (see, among others, October 2015 and September 2017).
October
Hot on withdrawn assistance
22 October
US President Donald Trump threatens to withdraw aid to Honduras because of a group of migrants heading to the United States. Guatemala and El Salvador are also threatened with withdrawn assistance. The background is a “caravan” of migrants who left San Pedro Sula on October 12 and quickly grew from a few hundred to several thousand people, also from other Central American countries. They have now made their way through Guatemala and across the border to southern Mexico, on their way north. The migrants say they are fleeing violence and poverty. Trump has threatened to send military and close the US-Mexico border to block them out.
May
Tens of thousands of Hondurans are losing the right to be in the United States
May 4th
The US government decides to abandon the temporary protection status (TPS) that Hondurans received after Hurricane Mitch in 1998 (see Modern History). The decision affects at least 57,000 people who must now leave the United States within 18 months, if they fail to obtain any other form of residence permit. TPS provides temporary residence permits for citizens from severely crisis-hit countries. Since Trump took office as President of the United States in January 2017, TPS has also been withdrawn for El Salvador, Haiti and Nicaragua, which means that an additional over 300,000 people must leave the United States.
April
Congress wants to move the Israeli embassy
April 13
Congress votes to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and move Honduras embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. The decision that requires the president’s support to get rid of follows the US decision in December 2017 to make the corresponding move. Especially in the Muslim world, the move is controversial as it is considered a position in the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. Honduras was one of only nine countries that voted against a UN resolution in December condemning the US decision. Guatamala was also one of the nine and has already decided to move its Israeli embassy.
March
The Energy Company CEO is arrested for conspicuous murder
March 2
Former CEO of the energy company Desa, Roberto David Castillo Mejía, is arrested for involvement in the murder of environmental activist Berta Cáceres (see March 2016 and October 2017). Eight other people are already in custody on suspicion of involvement in the murder. Castillo Mejía, previously a military intelligence officer, was arrested while trying to leave the country to fly to the United States.
January
President Hernandez swears the oath
January 27
President Juan Orlando Hernández formally begins his second term in conjunction with a ceremony in Tegucigalpa. Comprehensive demonstrations against the president are held at the same time. After his new entry, Hernández re-furnishes the government and, among other things, appoints Rocío Tábora as finance minister.
New protest against established election results
January 6
Tens of thousands of Hondurans are participating in a demonstration in San Pedro Sula against the recognition of President Hernández as a drummer. The day before, the electoral authority has rejected the opposition’s request to annul the election. The United States and some 20 other countries have acknowledged Hernández’s victory. According to human rights groups, more than 30 people were killed in connection with police operations after the election and around 800 have been arrested.
