XINHUA

Recent reforms in Mexico’s educational system could undermine the quality of teaching, spokesman the Mexican Employers’ Confederation (Coparmex), the country’s main business association, said in a press release on Tuesday, Sept. 2.

There is a risk that the Mexican government has assumed an obligation of guaranteeing higher education for all when elementary education has yet to reach an acceptable level, the press release said.

According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) report “Education at a Glance 2018,” Mexico’s cumulative spending per student on compulsory education in 2018 amounted to just $29,015, ranking the last among OECD countries.

The Coparmex press release stated that assuming further obligations in terms of public education could only “contributes to losing focus.”

“Budget cuts to research in scientific and technological development is another source of uncertainty,” said the statement, “given that Mexico has already lagged behind in this area. The cuts exacerbate the problem.”

The Coparmex release also stressed the urgency of addressing school dropout rates, meeting requirements for teacher training and hiring, and promoting the participation of parents and non-governmental organizations in educational management.

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador overturned a 2013 education overhaul led by former President Enrique Peña Nieto after he took office in December 2018.

Mandatory teacher-performance evaluations, the core of the 2013 laws, was repealed.