Teachers go on strike in Honduras

Ananova, 1 March 2001

More than two million students in Honduras have had an unexpected holiday thanks to striking teachers.

Teachers organised the 24-hour strike to demand an extra 4,500 recruits.

Around 65,000 school pupils have not registered this year because of a lack of teachers.

Arnaldo Pinto, of the Federation of Teachers Organisations, said: The government has acted slowly in resolving the enormous demand for teachers that exists in Honduras.

He says teachers are prepared to extend the strike if the government does not meet their demands.

Education Secretary Ramon Calix says the government will need more than $25 million—which he says it doesn't have—to meet the teachers' demands.