GUATEMALA – One million adolescents are without educational coverage at different levels of education in Guatemala, according to local educational research organizations.
This alarming figure is affected by the fact that young people are seeking employment at an early age due to family economic reasons, according to the Association of Research and Social Studies (ASIES), the Great National Campaign for Education (GCNPE) and the National Observatory of the Educational Quality (ONCE).
GCNPE coordinator, Gabriela de Burbano, said that the adolescents who do not study or work are prone to join criminal groups in order to obtain resources for their subsistence in an easy way.
According to the National Education Law, issued in 1991, Guatemala should invest at least seven percent of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in education, the figure is that recommended by the United Nations Education, Science and Culture Organization.
However, statistics on educational investment in Guatemala are low, barely 2.9 percent of GDP, the lowest one in Central America, according to the ASIES analysis.
