Caracas, Sep 19 (IANS): The US sanctions on Venezuela prevent access to necessary resources for the education sector, Minister of Education Yelitze Santaella said while addressing the UN.

"Venezuela is experiencing a situation of its resources having been illegally withheld, violating all international law by the US," Santaella said during her speech on Sunday at the UN Transforming Education Summit.

For Venezuela, "education represents a fundamental human right and a social duty, therefore it is democratic and compulsory", Xinhua news agency quoted the Minister as saying.

It is necessary to release the resources blocked by the US so that Venezuela can use them "for the investment to continue transforming education," she said.

The Minister stressed that teachers "have suffered from the impact that persecution and financial blockade against the country".

Even in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, Venezuela still managed to incorporate 56,000 new teachers into the education system, she added.