Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2015, published 105th ILC session (2016)

Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) - Honduras (Ratification: 1980)

Article 2(3). Age of completion of compulsory schooling. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that, although the net school enrolment rate in primary education was relatively high, the net school attendance rate in secondary education remained low. It also noted that a preliminary draft of the General Education Act, which is to replace the Consolidated Act of 1966, establishes that school is compulsory and free of charge for ten years, namely one year of pre-school and nine years of primary education until the age of 14, which is the minimum age for admission to work in Honduras.

The Committee notes with interest the adoption of the Basic Education Act, Decree No. 262-2011, which entered into force on 22 February 2012, which, in sections 7, 8, 13 and 21–23, envisages compulsory free schooling. The Committee also notes the Government’s indication that the attendance rate increased by 5 per cent in 2015, with 1.9 million children under 14 years of age enrolled in pre-school and primary education. The Committee also notes the measures taken by the Government in the context of the National Plan of Action for the Elimination of Child Labour, in particular the reconstruction of education centres in the west of the country, and the adoption of Circular No. 0150-SE-2014 which provides that no child in the first year can be failed, and that a “child labour” entry is to be incorporated into the national enrolment system to identify the number of child workers. It also notes that the Government has established, through an administrative ruling, that children living in rural areas and in indigenous and Afro–Honduran villages shall start school earlier, that is before the age of six, to reduce their educational disadvantages. Moreover, there is an international certification process for enterprises that can be declared free from child labour and an awareness-raising campaign conducted by the Education Office of the Secretariat of State. Finally, the Government indicates that the Secretariat for Education has taken measures to combat child labour, such as a national campaign to encourage the enrolment and retention of children in education centres, and the removal of obstacles to first-year enrolment such as age, birth certificate or health card requirements. While welcoming these measures, the Committee notes that the Committee on the Rights of the Child, in its concluding observations of 2015 (CRC/C/HND/CO/4-5 paragraph 70), expressed concern at the low enrolment rate in secondary education. The Committee also observes that, according to the 2013 UNESCO estimates, the net enrolment rate in secondary education was only 48.6 per cent. The Committee once again requests the Government to intensify its efforts to improve the functioning of the education system to increase the enrolment rate of children under 14 years of age in secondary education. It also requests the Government to continue providing information on the measures taken in this regard.