School in Honduras

Honduras's Honduran National Education System (Sistema Nacional de Educación) covers formal, non-formal and informal education. The formal school sector has three levels: pre-primary education (Prebásica), basic education (Básica) and upper secondary education (Media). The Secretariat of Education (Secretaría de Educación) organizes, approves and supervises these levels; the Departmental Directorate (Dirección Departamental), Municipal Directorate (Dirección Municipal) and District Directorate (Dirección Distrital) handle decentralized administration and supervision. Pre-primary education comprises three grades and is generally intended for children aged approximately three to six. State-funded compulsory provision covers the final stage for approximately five- to six-year-old children. Provision includes, among other options, state kindergartens, CEPENF and CCIE. Care for younger children may additionally be provided by public bodies, non-governmental organizations, private institutions or companies and is not the same as formal school attendance. Basic education comprises nine grades in three cycles: grades 1 to 3, 4 to 6, and 7 to 9. The regular route proceeds consecutively and is generally intended for children and young people aged approximately six to 14. Alternative provision uses the same curriculum and the same quality standard, but may be more flexible, more closely oriented to the local context or more connected to working life. Special educational support may take place in regular schools or specialized institutions and is intended for learners with disabilities, special educational needs or exceptional talents. Upper secondary education is generally intended for young people aged approximately 15 to 17 and is also free and compulsory. The two-year Baccalaureate in Science and Humanities (Bachillerato en Ciencias y Humanidades), abbreviated BCH, mainly prepares students for further education. The Vocational Technical Baccalaureate (Bachillerato Técnico Profesional), abbreviated BTP, lasts two or three years depending on the field and is more strongly oriented toward entry into employment. The Secretariat may adapt regional fields of study and forms of instruction to social, economic and productive conditions. A BCH qualification, together with the corresponding certificate, entitles its holder to university or non-university higher education; for the BTP, the certificate and title depend on the requirements of the relevant field. State and non-state schools must register their learners in the Educational Center Administration System (Sistema de Administración de Centros Educativos), known as SACE. Initial enrollment or a school transfer normally requires a birth certificate and, if available, the study certificate from the previous school year. State schools may not require an enrollment fee or uniform, material, photograph or solvency certificates (Solvencia) as barriers to access under flexible enrollment. Missing documents may be submitted by the end of the school year. Children, adolescents and young adults with interrupted schooling, as well as learners with foreign prior educational qualifications, may use nationwide competency assessment, validation and re-entry procedures. Asylum-seeking, refugee and transit children have access to the right to education. The Secretariat publishes separate calendars for pre-primary and basic education and for upper secondary education. The main school period generally runs from February to November; home-based education (Educación en Casa) may run from September to June. A school year in the first grade of basic education lasts approximately ten months. The specific calendar must be checked with the selected school or the responsible regional office. The binding National Basic Curriculum (Currículo Nacional Básico), or CNB, establishes the curricular framework. Assessment and promotion are competency-based and are officially documented through SACE. For state schools, teaching, reading and work materials are intended to be financed or distributed, but actual provision may vary from one school to another. Timetables, transport, uniforms, meals and other ongoing costs depend on the location and the school. Honduras supports inclusive education through curricular adjustments, differentiated instruction, accessible spaces, adapted learning materials, training and parent participation. Responsibilities include those of the General Subdirectorate for Education of People with Different Abilities and Exceptional Talents (Subdirección General de Educación para Personas con Capacidades Diferentes y Talentos Excepcionales) under Agreement 1365-SE-2014. Intercultural bilingual education (Educación Intercultural Bilingüe) combines Spanish with local languages and uses context-specific curricula and materials. These include Garífuna, Miskito, Tawahka, Pech, Tol, Ch’orti’, Isleño, Lenca and Nahua. In remote, Indigenous and Afro-Honduran communities, the alternative education programme (PROHECO), operated by the Secretariat, may support access to pre-primary and basic education. Practical gaps in provision and participation problems occur particularly in rural and low-income areas and from upper secondary education onward. The availability of schools, free places and specific support must therefore be checked at the level of the department, municipality and individual school. INE and SIIE data produce different results depending on the level, area, sex, administration and school center. School completion is documented through SACE with a study certificate and grades. Whether a particular school actually offers places, materials, transport or meals cannot be determined from national rules alone, but depends on the specific institution and its location.