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Essay on Education in Mexico
One of the basic principles behind a just society is equality in access to opportunities. While defining what consists of equality of opportunities is notoriously difficult, there is general agreement that access to education constitutes one of the most important. Nevertheless, it is obvious that equal access to even basic education is not universal in many countries and huge differences exist in educational attainment both within and across countries.
The level of education is a fundamental factor in a country's economic development. There is ample evidence that a highly educated labor force is one of the key factors to promoting economic growth. Low levels of education are highly correlated as well with poverty. Lack of adequate education levels has been one of the most important factors contributing to the persistency of high levels of poverty in Latin America.
Just as important as the overall level of education in a country is its distribution between its residents. In most countries, the level of schooling for females is lower than that for males. Furthermore, the gender gap in education is higher in developing countries than in more developed countries.
With the creation of the Secretary of Education in Mexico in 1921, the provision of education officially became a federal responsibility. The Mexican education system consists of mandatory free primary and, as of 1992, secondary education. As might be expected, primary coverage is almost universal in Mexico, but secondary coverage lags substantially behind. At the high school level, (preparatoria) students may choose between a curriculum oriented towards preparing them for higher education and a curriculum which is oriented towards technical schools and/or curriculum which prepares them for entering the work-force. Nevertheless, by the high school level, as we will see below, the majority of youth are no longer attending school..................
