Who Has Still Been Left Behind? A Comparative Analysis of Children’s Enrolment Patterns in Different Geographical Areas of Honduras

This chapter focuses on Honduras, which has achieved universal primary education, thanks to the UN’s Education for All initiative. To clarify the school enrolment situation from entry to graduation or dropout, the study followed 4390 primary school pupils in three regions of Honduras: the capital, the regional city and the insular zone. Our findings indicate that the proportion of students graduating without repeating has increased in both the capital city and the regional city, but not in the insular zone. While most students in all three regions commenced primary education at the official age of entry, grade repetition and dropout persisted and the age at which students left the target schools varied. Furthermore, the regions where the target schools were located, particularly the regional city and insular zone, were characterised by a lack of occupational diversity. Additionally, occupations requiring a high level of education did not reflect the main economic activity in these areas. These findings underscore the importance of providing individualised responses and recommendations based on regional characteristics. Moreover, implementing an automatic promotion system could reduce repetition and dropout further. However, it is essential to discuss the provision of remedial measures for academically underperforming children.