Global Education Executives
MEXICO
Mexico, with a population of 130 million and one of the most diverse cultural landscapes in the world, is largely seen as an emerging power in the global scene. Despite the many changes in its history, including the overthrowing of Spanish rule in the 19th century and the various governmental reforms since then, Mexico has simultaneously seen significant economic growth and developmental stability. They have greatly expanded in education, as well; education until the upper-secondary level is compulsory, and graduation rates have risen. The new president in particular has ambitious goals for the future of education in Mexico, opening 100 new universities during his term. At the current rate, Mexico is expected to be one of the world’s top 20 countries in terms of students enrolled at the university level by 2035.
Although Mexico is seeing great progress in terms of the expansion of education, not every school can provide quality education; Mexican students are still underperforming on a global level. For this country, the biggest obstacle to achieving consistent quality education is the disparity between the most developed parts of Mexico and the lesser developed parts of Mexico. As the world’s 13th largest country by land area, Mexico boasts of over 30 states and extremely diverse cultures, even amongst same-language speakers, which means that wealth disparities exist between the vastly diverse states. The farther away from the more centralized, developed cities like Mexico City, the more likely the students are to be less literate; literacy rates in some of the southern states are over 10 times lower than in more developed areas.
Poverty has a hand in this as well: besides the lack of resources in both home life and within the classroom as a result of poverty, impoverished students are more likely to drop out of school to support their families instead. This affects women in particular, whose domestic chores hold higher importance than going to school. Lastly, Mexico’s diverse cultural landscape means that students from Indigenous communities are more likely to suffer a lack of proper education; besides the fact that Indigenous communities in Mexico are more likely to be poor, due to a history of discrimination and exclusion, the education they receive may not suit their unique needs nor reflect their own culture.
As they do with many other countries, organizations like UNESCO that are dedicated to bettering the global landscape seek to improve the quality of education in Mexico by providing resources, training personnel, and other technical support to organizations or communities in Mexico. In particular, UNESCO seeks to provide humanitarian aid to Mexican families that may have been affected by hurricanes, the COVID-19 pandemic, etc. In supplying the basic needs of disparaged families, the hope is that their youth will have more bandwidth to focus on educational needs.
Mexico is taking great steps in providing its youth with access to education, an admirable feat as they continue to emerge in the global scene as a middle power. With enough resources and a focus on uplifting the areas within the country with less access to education, Mexico is on the road to quality education.
References
-
ICF. (November 7, 2022). 4 Barriers to Quality Education in the Mexico School System. International Community Foundation. https://icfdn.org/barriers-quality-education-mexico/
-
Monroy, Carlos. (May 23, 2019). Education in Mexico. World Education News + Review. https://wenr.wes.org/2019/05/education-in-mexico-2
-
UNESCO. (n.d.). Promoting the right to education throughout life in Mexico. UNESCO. https://www.unesco.org/en/fieldoffice/mexico/expertise/derecho-la-educacion-mexico#:~text=The%20UNESCO%20Education%20Sector%20in,and%20communities%20around%20the%20world
-
Wikipedia. (n.d.). Mexico. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexico