A Nicaraguan Education

To better understand the context in which our Nicaraguan students study, one should consider the political and cultural history of Nicaragua’s education system. Nicaragua is the second poorest country in the Americas, and has a complex history involving devastating natural disasters, dictatorships, and civil war [1]. For a chronological list of key events starting in the 1950’s, take a look at the BBC’s Nicaragua time line. While this post does not offer a comprehensive narrative of Nicaragua’s history, it attempts to shed light on some of the major events and movements that shape the education system that is there today.

First, let’s examine the literacy rate in Nicaragua during the rule of two of the major political parties- the Somozas and Sandistas.  During the forty-four year long Somoza dictatorship, which began in 1937, Nicaragua’s illiteracy rate was estimated to be 75-90% in the more rural areas, and around 50% overall [2]. It was under the governance of the Sandista political party that the country’s education system was drastically transformed. The FSD states that, “education was a political symbol and a major priority in shifting attitudes and creating national unity” for the Sandista party. Under their rule the percentage of students enrolled in national schools just about doubled and the literacy rate dropped dramatically (UNESCO reports that it dropped from 53 percent to 12 percent)[3]. The Nicaraguan Literacy Campaign (also known as the Sandista Literacy Campaign), which launched in 1980, is said to be one the biggest educational successes of the Sandista party. There have been several literacy campaigns since then as well, including one launched in 2007 under Sandista leader Daniel Ortega [4].

Literacy Campaign poster

While some people “criticize the Sandinistas for their political use of the education system, their emphasis on educational opportunity and literacy did bring about a renaissance in Nicaraguan schools [5].” In 1990, following the Sandista era, Violeta Chamorro was elected president. Under this administration the textbooks published during the Sandista education reform were destroyed in order to rid the schools of any political Sandista ideology [6]. It is also interesting to note that Daniel Oretga was re-elected in 2006 and is trying to make changes to the constitution that would allow him to be re-elected for another term.

So far, we have focused on the structural aspects of education, but what about the affordability of education for Nicaraguans? While schooling through high school is said to be free, in reality there are fees for which many families don’t have the means to pay. “A World Bank article analyzed this issue, citing a researcher who completed a comparison study on Nicaragua’s school reform, and [noted that], ‘with the secondary school fee per child at 10 cordobas a month, families with 6 children could easily be required to pay half of their family income towards school fees’ [7].” Today, for the average Nicaraguan, “it is still a constant struggle just to find and keep a job, earn enough money to put food on the table, obtain basic medical care and medicine, and pay for tuition, books and uniforms to send their kids to public schools [8].”

The problem of affordability is even more pronounced when students reach college. This is where Vittana comes into play. Most universities are located in the capital Managua, which is also where our MFI partner AFODENIC is located. Students in Nicaragua must take an entrance test in order to be accepted at local colleges. Once students choose the subject they wish to pursue, “they follow a plan de estudios, or plan of study, fulfilling each level sufficiently before moving on to the next. In order to graduate, student must satisfactorily complete all courses with [in] their plan de estudios and complete a final project, which they defend in front of a tribune of professor [9].” Additional fees are often charged by universities for completion of these final projects as well as to process their degrees. Many students are unable to pay these fees, so although they have completed their college course work, they are left without a degree.

I wrote an article last month that details the story of one of our Nicaraguan students, Howard. He used his Vittana loan to help him pay such charges so that he will be able to successfully graduate. You can check it out here. Another one of our students studying in Nicaragua is Besty Olivares. She is studying marketing and advertising.

Betsy explains in an interview that without her Vittana loan she would have had to quit her schooling. She had just given birth and because of complications she had expenses for additional doctor visits and consultations. In an interview she explained that she “just didn’t have enough money to care for [her] health and pay for school“. Student loan programs are effectively non-existent in Nicaragua and Besty explains how important her Vittana loan was when she said, “For someone to come and offer credit or a loan of this type—it was a huge relief.  Because, you know, the banks don’t make this available“.

Without Vittana loans, and Vittana lenders like you, our Nicaraguan students would not have the capital they need to finance their studies. To view Vittana students from Nicaragua who are still in need of funding click here.