Julio
Hello. My name is Julio Herrera and I am 28 years old. I have one parent (my mother) and three sisters. I was born and grew up in a small town called Tactic in the north of Guatemala; I have lived there my entire life. My family and I have
Our Students
Meet our students
Click on a student to learn more about them. While reading biographies, you might come across some unfamiliar terms having to do with the Guatemalan educational system. To go to a quick Glossary click on the highlighted word in the student bio, or to go to a more complete description of the Guatemalan educational system, click here.
Featured Student
Kimberly
Hello! My name is Kimberly Julissa López and I am 22 years old. I live in a town named San Antonio Aguas Calientes from the department of Sacatepéquez where I have lived all my life. This community inspires not only cultural but peaceful values, in which I was able to
Luis
My name is Luis Fernandez. I was born to a Christian home, and surrounded by animals. My parents dedicated their lives to a small farm outside of Tactic and I´ve loved animals ever since I remember, especially dogs. Growing up was very tough, challenging and different from what my friends
Marlen
My name is Marlen Jazmin Co Lep from the village of Gancho Caoba II. I am currently in the 4th year of high school majoring in Science and Letters with with specialization in Computing. I am attending the school named Instituto Mixto Diversificado por Cooperativa de enseñanza (Institute Diversified by
Milton
My name is Milton Javier Cap Ramírez. I am 24 years old and I live in the village of Chiallí, Tactic, Alta Verapaz, Guatemala. I have two brothers and two sisters, and I currently live with my two brothers and one of my sisters. I study at the Mesoamerican University,
Mirian
We are a humble and happy family made up of nine siblings, but this year (2021) in July my brother Elfido passed away. My father dedicated himself to planting cornfields and beans, my mother dedicated herself to washing clothes in other people’s houses to help buy food. My brothers and
Meet Our High School Students
Click on a student to learn more about them. While reading biographies, you might come across some unfamiliar terms having to do with the Guatemalan educational system. To go to a quick Glossary click on the highlighted word in the student bio, or to go to a more complete description of the Guatemalan educational system, click here.
Learn About The Guatemalan Education System
The educational system in Guatemala has some similarities and some differences from the one here in the US. Like the American system, education is divided into primary (grades 1-6), middle (grades 7-9), and secondary (grades 10-12). Unlike the US, only primary school is mandatory, and is the only level of education supported by the government.
Primary School
Middle School
High School
University
Primary School
Despite being mandatory, in reality many Guatemalan children do not complete primary school, much less continue on to middle school. The reasons for this are several: First, despite being government-supported, primary school students must still pay for uniforms, books, school supplies, and transportation to and from school. This is beyond the reach of many Guatemalan families, especially rural, Indigenous families. Second, the primary language of almost 40% of Guatemalans is not Spanish, but rather one of more than 20 Mayan dialects. Despite a law passed in 1996 mandating that classes be taught in both Spanish and the local dialect, this has yet to occur in many schools, requiring Indigenous children to struggle with Spanish in addition to the usual first-year problems. Because of these and other factors, at present Indigenous children average only 2.5 years of education, compared to 5.7 years in non-Indigenous children.
Middle School
Starting in middle school, families must pay for tuition as well as for the costs mentioned above, such as books, school supplies, etc. After successfully graduating from middle school, students are awarded a diploma called a “Basico”.
High School
In high school, students have two options: they can attend a technical school for 2 years, choosing training in such fields as agriculture, surveying, or accounting, or they can choose a school with a more typical academic curriculum, which they attend for 3 years. At the end of technical school, they are awarded a certificate of competency in their chosen field, while at the end of academic school they are awarded a diploma called a “Diversicado” (I assume meaning a “diversified education”). The importance of the Diversicado is that it is required in order to sit for the college admission exams
University
Like high school, Guatemalan students accepted into post-secondary school education have several options. First, there are special teacher’s colleges that offer a 3-year degree in elementary education. This allows them to teach at the primary school level only. Second, there are more than a dozen Universities in Guatemala, and in general, they offer several routes to a diploma. The first of these is a 3-year degree in education that is more rigorous than the one offered by a teacher’s college. This allows the graduate to teach at both the primary and secondary levels, and entitles them to the title of “Profesor”. For fields of study other than education, students are given the option of taking classes for 2-3 years, and then graduating with what is called a “technico” degree in their chosen field. Alternatively, they can continue on to a “Licenciatura” degree. This is much more rigorous and prestigious, and requires at least four years of classes followed by another year for the student to research and write a thesis in the student’s major. This is the degree that GSSG student Nancy Ventura will be awarded in April of this year.