Education

The education in Guatemala is divided in;

Pre-primary education
This education is for children from four to six years old. It is offered in three modalities; kindergarten, bilingual preprimary (with Spanish and Maya) and accelerated pre-primary. This education is not compulsory, so the state does not give much importance to it. That is why the private sector has a lot of influence in this education. A lot of children cannot attend because their families cannot afford the payment and there is a shortage of establishments. 

Primary education
This is compulsory for children between seven and fourteen years old. It encompasses six years of studie. Divided into two cycles of three years each. After passing these two cycles, children are awarded with a diploma.

Secondary education
This contains a three year basic cycle about general training and another three year cycle about professional training. When the second cycle is finished, it is permitted to go to the university (National Statistics Institute, 2010).