Honduras

The 1982 Honduran constitution stipulates laws and regulations related to education in articles 151 to 171. Primary education is free and obligatory. Honduran nationals must teach the constitution, history, and geography of Honduras in public schools. Public education is nondenominational, and parents can choose whether to send their children to public or private schools. The state charges schools with the tasks of eradicating illiteracy, promoting special education, and insuring adherence to prescribed academic levels. In rural areas, farm or factory owners must establish new primary schools as needed or help support poor schools. Teachers, both active and retired, are tax-exempt.

Articles 160 to 162 address higher education and establish the National Autonomous University of Honduras (UNAH) as the official state agency that governs most laws and regulations pertaining to higher education, including setting its own academic standards. By law, the state allocates 8 percent of its national budget to the university. In addition to what is established in the constitution, the government of Honduras has issued other decrees on education, such as the 1966 Organic Law and the 1973 National Commission for Educational Reform Report. All of these reports, laws, and statutes strengthen the central position of the government in the Honduran educational system.