The Counterrevolution in Nicaraguan Education

Abstract

For over a decade, education was a top priority for the Sandinista government in Nicaragua. The UNESCO-recognized Literacy Crusade of 1980, which reduced the illiteracy rate from 53 percent to 12 percent, was followed by a proliferation of adult education programs and the extension of educational opportunities through the university level to the rural and urban poor. However, by the latter part of the revolutionary period war, economic blockade and errors took their toll, as illiteracy once again climbed, education programs were cut, facilities deteriorated, and teachers left the system.

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