An article by the New Humanitarian shows the connection between austerity policies with reduced funding for education and young people joining gangs.
According to researchers at the think tank Estado de la Nación (State of the Nation), the decaying quality of teaching, the erosion of the country’s social fabric, the damaging effects of the pandemic, and the political decision to stop investing in education have led to what they call an “educational blackout” – with the 38% of minors who live in poverty being those most affected.
“The quality of the [education] system is related to the incursion of the youth into criminality,” according to Leonardo Sánchez, Costa Rica’s deputy education minister. The education ministry provided The New Humanitarian with data that shows that almost 5,000 teenagers dropped out of high school and technical education in 2022, and the same number in 2023.