Honduras

The Ministry of Education controls all facets of primary and secondary education, although the universities enjoy autonomy. This centralization contributes to the ineffectiveness of the educational system. Too much power is concentrated in Tegucigalpa, and few initiatives are left to provincial (departmental) school officials. The government enacts educational legislation that is handed down to the Ministry to implement in the whole country.

Traditionally, both primary and higher education get a bigger slice of the money allocated. Higher education, by constitutional mandate, gets 6 percent of the national budget. Money for education at the end of twentieth century stood at about one-sixth of the national budget, fluctuating between 14 and 17 percent. Usually, over 90 percent of the education budget is allocated to teacher salaries.

Research activities are very limited in Honduras. And, for the most part, funding comes from outside sources, like UNESCO or other United Nations agencies. Research grants from government sources are very rare. At the universities, professors are not offered any incentives to conduct research activities. A few scientific research projects take place at the primary and secondary levels. Were there more computers, laboratories, and release time, as well as more access to the Internet, teachers and professors could engage in more research.