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Honduras invests large sums in education, but powerful teachers' unions and political appointments hinder reforms in a sector vulnerable to corruption and lacking of civil society monitoring. There are 50,000 teachers in the country; between 2,500 and 6,000 of them have pending issues about their posts (such as irregular paid leaves or unjustified absence while still on the payroll). For current decentralization plans to impact positively on education services, local auditing skills need to be improved, parents must be given a bigger role, and unions must adhere to codes of conduct.

Since 2009, education and health have suffered cuts and multiple corruption scandals. Over the past decade, spending on education and culture has dropped from 32.9% of the central government budget to 19.9%. Students have no library, no computer classes, and requests for funding to replace asbestos seeping from a primary school’s roof in San Pedro Sula were declined by central and local authorities. ‘The teachers and parents raised $1,500 through fundraising events and collection tins at traffic lights to pay for repairs’ said a primary school teacher.