Status of Education in Mexico

Every country has their own education system and they all function in a different way.
Some countries are able to afford a well-developed school system for their students and some
countries are too poor to provide each child with a learning opportunity. The UN Global
Education Initiative has three main priorities which include improving the quality of learning,
making sure that every child attends school, and foster global citizenship. In these paragraphs
below we will learn more about Mexicos education system.
The Mexican government mandates education through the completion of the sixth grade,
but many children traditionally choose work over school. The importance of income made by
children that work means that for many families there is a choice between survival and
education. In spite of these difficulties, over the past five years steady improvement in school
attendance has occurred, UNICEF reports that 84% of children who begin primary school reach
grade five. A lower dropout rate means more young people are likely to continue on to a higher
education, which may help lead children out of poverty. Today more than 8 million young
people are enrolled in schools beyond the primary level, almost 2 million more than in 1994.
The government has successfully started programs to improve educational opportunities
in Mexico. When President Ernesto Zedillo was in office, he provided more money and supplies
to schools than ever before. Government spending on education now amounts to 25 cents of
every peso spent by the government. This money is used to build new primary schools and
technical schools. The money also helped to distribute free textbooks to 90% of the public
schools in Mexico. Nine out of ten children between the ages of six and fourteen are enrolled in
primary school, 770,000 more than were enrolled in 1994.

Another program proving helpful to families with children is the PROGRESA program.
PROGRESA provides aid to the poorest of the poor in Mexico by providing money for schooling
costs such as uniforms and textbooks for the families and health care for the children. The
PROGRESA program helps 2.3 million families who would not otherwise be able to afford
schooling for their children. The government efforts have made a difference: the number of
children starting school who finish sixth grade is increasing steadily.
From the information given above we can say that Mexicos education system is
definitely improving and striving to offer good education for all children. So they arent
necessary lacking on the three priorities but yet improving them. At one point, Mexico couldnt
offer very much education to children especially the children living in poverty. Today, children
are able to attend preschool-9th grade for free and that includes their textbooks for school. Since
uniforms are required for all schools in Mexico the PROGRESA program again provides aid for
families to be able to have their child in school and provide with all of their school materials.
Also when President Ernesto Zedillo was in office and provided money to help make more
schools and make things more affordable for more families, this gave families a great
opportunity to let their children have a school career and a future. We can say that by making all
these changes and improvements, Mexicos school does basically follow the three priorities very
well.
In conclusion, Mexico has gone from being poor in their school and education system
from being able to give every child a schooling experience and a proper education. By having
extra programs available to families in poverty this has really helped many children to be able to
attend school instead of just working and not having an opportunity in become what they want in
the future.