Education in Nicaragua

Did you know?

• There are about 2 million school-aged children in Nicaragua.
• Only about 1.6 million are actually attending school; 400,000 do not attend for various reasons, mostly related to finances.
• The country only has classroom space for about 800,000 students; most schools have two "shifts" of class. Some students attend in the morning and others attend in the afternoon. The school day is shortened to less than 5 hours.
• The classrooms are overcrowded. The law permits up to 40 students per classroom, but many times this is not achieved. Classrooms with 50, 60 or even 70 students (or more) are common in Nicaragua.
• Most schools do not have sufficient resources to provide a good education to the students. Teachers are inexperienced, underpaid, and overworked. They do not have the classroom and textbook resources necessary to achieve academic excellence.