Volume I Issue 2
small one where you could only study until second grade,” says Santis about her experience in Naranjatic Bajo. “If you wanted to study more, there are schools in Yatkeclub or Polhó where you have to walk very far, it takes a lot of time.” Claudia Gutierrez, a re-
ligious worker from a nearby parish, confirms the difficulties faced by Santis and other Tzotz- ile who want to pursue an educa- tion. “The teachers sometimes arrive on Tuesdays, but leave and then come back Thursday or Friday. Very few teachers want to stay in the communities.” The education plight of
the indigenous youth in Naran- jatic Bajo is reflected in govern- ment statistics. According to the National Institute of Statis- tics and Geography in the state of Chiapas, 17.5% of the popula- tion over the age of 14 has no education whatsoever and 45% have less than a primary educa- tion. Only 15% completed their primary education, 13% have a secondary education, and only 9% have pursued an undergradu- ate or advanced degree at uni- versity. In comparison, about 98% of Mexicans attend primary school, 70% attend secondary school, and 28% earn a degree from a university or college. Gutierrez explains that in
addition to a lack of educational resources like teaching facilities, books, and funds to pay teach- ers, the language of instruction
in educational institutions does not accommodate indigenous youth. “In the community there are people of mixed descent [with both Spanish and indige- nous heritage] but all of the edu- cation is in Spanish,” she says. “The children that are Tzotziles do not understand. They do not learn.” Even I noticed while I was in Naranjatic Bajo that the books being carried by the few elementary school students were in Spanish, even though the chil- dren were not fluent in that lan- guage. “The Tzotzile children only go to school to listen, not to understand.” Blank stares and boredom
are common in most elementary schools around the world, but Gutierrez is not exaggerating in saying that the indigenous chil- dren can only listen. “There are still a lot of children in third or fourth grade in the elementary schools who do not know how to read or write.” According to the 2005 National Census, Chiapas has the highest illiteracy rate in Mexico, with 27.9% of men and 50.1% of women unable to read or write their own names. The Mexican average for illiteracy, not surprisingly, is much lower, at only 7.2%. That Spanish is the lan-
guage of instruction in schools across Mexico is more than just an inconvenience to Tzotziles and other indigenous peoples. The National Institute of Statis- tics and Geography notes that
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