The following letter was sent to NSC members in mid-2007 and now provides valuable background information to our Education for All Campaign. Additional material has been added.

A few of you will have been in Nicaragua at the time of the 1980 Sandinista Literacy Campaign which won a UNESCO prize (see photo by Fiona MacIntosh). Many of you may work in education. Almost all of you will have benefited from going to school in some way or other, whether you enjoyed it or not, so please read on.

Our education affiliation leaflet gives the story of Emely, Amy and Pedro. These three children were forced to become street sellers after their parents went away to find work. Going to school was impossible – no time, no energy and no possibility of paying for school fees and books. However, the entire community showed compassion to the children:  the primary school prioritised support for them and an NSC affiliated organisation arranged for them to attend an after-school club and gave them uniforms and shoes.

Saying NO to child labour as endured by these children and saying YES to education lies at the heart of our campaign: solidarity with the Nicaraguan people in their collective efforts to meet the UN Millennium Development Goal of a complete primary education for all by 2015. In Nicaragua the situation is scandalous: that goal has actually receded as successive governments have been forced by the IMF and World Bank to cut public spending in order to repay the country’s debt. However, the day after the November 2006 elections the new Sandinista Minister of Education announced the abolition of all school fees which is a huge and brave step forwards.

According to the new Minister of Education: “The Government … has adopted as its motto and guide the right of all Nicaraguans to education … as a fundamental human right” (El Nuevo Diario 21 January 2007). He immediately abolished the “voluntary” fees families had to pay for school upkeep, materials, and even to supplement teachers’ salaries. This triggered a dramatic rise in primary enrolments, but it simultaneously created a school accommodation crisis, and exacerbated the effects of teacher shortages.

“We’re all very pleased with this”, says a parent from León. “Enrolments for 2007 have gone up, so I think we’re on the right road. But we’ll have to wait and see. Now the Ministry has to take responsibility for basic services, furnishings, materials, books, and so on”.

An adult literacy campaign is promised with Venezuelan aid. Even teachers’ salaries have risen slightly, though they are still only 49% of the national average.

BUT NONE OF THESE MEASURES CAN GUARANTEE THE LONG-TERM SUSTAINABLE GROWTH IN EDUCATION SPENDING NEEDED TO ACHIEVE THE UN MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOAL: universal primary education by 2015. For this, Nicaragua will have almost to double the percentage of GDP it spends on education.

On top of this, unless the IMF alters its conditions and recognises the long-term value of education as a key to poverty reduction, classrooms will remain overcrowded, low salaries will continue to force many good people out of teaching, and another generation of children will be condemned to poverty.


NSC's Education Campaign

The exciting thing about the NSC campaign is the number of other organisations we are working with, and how we are working. Staff and trustees are committed to making this campaign a success. So what have we done already?

 joined forces with OXFAM to hold a public meeting on education and health with a Nicaraguan guest speaker.

 encouraged people to send a protest letter to the IMF and to press Gordon Brown to push the IMF to prioritise education spending. For further information go to >> 

 produced various briefings.

 approached two trade unions for possible funding. The NUT is now supporting our AGMs and the AMICUS Foundation have given us a grant >>

 consulted our twin town groups and Nicaraguan organisations about making a Big Lottery Fund application for a series of after school clubs. Unfortunately this was not successful.

In this campaign NSC is working with Nicaragua’s FEDH (the Education and Human Development Forum). This Forum brings together a wide range of organisations and networks including the teachers’ union ANDEN, several universities, social movements such as the Nicaraguan Community Movement and about 20 NGOs working with children, women, education and disabled people. Together they agreed a New Agenda for Education and ensures that it was endorsed by all parties before the November 2006 elections. Now FEDH’s former head is Minister of Education in the new FSLN government and the Agenda is part of education policy.

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