'In the rural areas of Guatemala schools can be up to half a day’s walk away. It costs money to buy pens, paper and books - money the family would rather have for food. And a child at school means two less hands to help at home.'

Holly Bruford, a former employee of Christian Aid, moved to Guatemala last year to live and work. This month, she reflects on the importance of education for Guatemalan children.

Yesterday, Martha, my elderly neighbour who lives across the cornfields, taught me how to carry home my firewood. The whole family watched with amusement as I struggled to pile up my chopped wood, tie it with rope and get it onto my back.

In the end Martha slipped a reef knot, another couple of fancy moves, and secured the load. She was clearly well taught and well practised.

As I walked home, endeavouring to balance the weight, I thought back to a boy I had passed the previous week in a neighbouring community. The boy, barely four years old, was returning home with his sister, a perfect wood pile chopped, roped and loaded upon his back. In his hand he carried a well worn, child size machete.

At the time I had been taken aback by the sight, conscious that giggly four year olds in my home town would have been playing with shapes at nursery school. But here in Guatemala, this little boy is not alone. And on reflection, perhaps the fact that 26% of the population between 7 and 14 years of age has not attended primary school is less surprising than it first appears.

In reality, what motivation does this four year old have to go to school? In the rural areas of Guatemala schools can be up to half a day’s walk away. It costs money to buy pens, paper and books - money the family would rather have for food. And a child at school means two less hands to help at home.

Whatsmore, if they do get to school, the immediate language barrier between their indigenous dialect and the Spanish taught in schools means failure rate is high. Andrew Lieberman, director of a nongovernmental bilingual/intercultural college in the Quiché highlands, explained 'A common mentality of the parents is that of "you have had an opportunity at school but we cannot afford to watch you fail the year"'.

This, together with the belief that one or two years of schooling is enough to acquire sufficient knowledge of writing and maths to be able to contribute to the family livelihood, means the percentage of children abandoning their studies at some stage of primary education has reached a startling 71% in rural areas. (Ministry of Education, 2003.)

Indeed, from what I saw of the boy in the hills above my village was that at the age of four he knows how to find, chop and carry wood home – something that failed me after 14 years of education and a university degree.

Initiatives

This month UNICEF has introduced an initiative to provide scholarships for some 20,000 children in primary schools across the country, targeting those from a low socioeconomic situation and at high risk of abandoning their studies.

The scheme is hoped to highlight the importance of education whilst underlining that it is the precarious economic situation of many families that leads to such a high dropout rate.

The government, for its part, is promising a new education policy for 2005 – 2008 with the Minister of Education recognising the need 'to better the standard of education and to promote new forms of management.' ( La Prensa 30.08.05) To support the new strategy President Berger announced the education budget will increase 14% in 2006.

I fear that government strategies and budget proposals are a long way from motivating the little boy from the highlands to go to school, but the work of UNICEF is promising and for the government to be incorporating new objectives into their strategies that include ‘amplifying the reach of schools’ and the ‘promotion of intercultural, bilingual education’ will hopefully be a step in the right direction.

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