Guide for students and parents about issues with primary school spending, produced by the National Center for Economic Research in Guatemala.
Researchers at Guatemala’s National Center for Economic Research (CIEN) wanted to assess government programs aimed at getting poorer students to go to and stay in school. They surveyed hundreds of students, teachers, and parents from 41 schools—20 urban and 21 rural—around Guatemala City, the capital, about six programs intended to lower the cost and increase the quality of education—by providing scholarships, free school meals, milk, textbooks, and supplies, and teaching kits. They found that the biggest problem is delays: schools often do not receive the resources until many months after the school year begins. Otherwise, researchers found that, while funding is less than adequate, beneficiaries of the programs are distributed relatively equally between urban and rural schools, and satisfaction among those who do benefit is high.
