For 30 years, Xch’ool Ixim has been dedicated to its mission to improve educational access and quality bilingual education for Q’eqchi’ indigenous students in Guatemala. Our focus is to improve access to quality primary education, secondary education, Maya cultural education, computer technology, and professional development.

Background

Imagine the challenge Xch’ool Ixim faced in 1993. There were no public schools in Nimlah’akok because the national government had not approved the development of public schools in rural indigenous communities. Despite that obstacle, Xch’ool Ixim successfully opened five primary schools without the support of the government, salaries for teachers, or school resources.

With Oxom’s expertise in bilingual education, Xch’ool Ixim with the participation of parents and community leaders developed subject content for mathematics, social science, and natural science disciplines that have been applied in the municipal region of Nimlaha’kok, Cobán Alta Verapaz, and is based on major themes of Mayan culture, utilizing Q’eqchi’ language as a first language and Spanish as the second language.

The curriculum is consistent with the National Curriculum and the National Education System, as implemented by the Ministry of Education (MINEDUC) which wants to decentralize the curriculum and teaching processes in order to better serve the education of indigenous peoples. Despite MINEDUC’s efforts, it is difficult to overcome the educational barriers to teaching and learning. Neither educational quality or equity have been achieved in rural areas, largely due to the lack of schools and to the lack of teacher training, which has not yet been approved at the national level and is not adjusted to rural community indigenous population needs. In Guatemala, there are more than 1.2 million Maya-speaking children of school-age. To serve this population, there are approximately 12,915 schools. Of these schools, only 277,000 primary school students receive textbooks and bilingual education. In secondary schools, bilingual education is nonexistent (DIGEBI, 2023).