Unable To Finish Online Schools, Millions Of Private School Students In Mexico Resign

Illustration (Unsplash / Thomas Park)

JAKARTA - Millions of students in Mexico will return to school virtually via television networks. They are returning to learning activities after being absent for months due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This learning system has prompted many private school students to move to public schools.

According to the Mexican private school organization quoted by Reuters, nearly 2 million students at all levels have withdrawn from private schools. The lack of face-to-face teaching means that many parents are unwilling to bear the high costs of private schools.

"We are facing a tremendous crisis," said Alfredo Villar, head of the National Association of Private Schools in Mexico. "Many schools are running out of people and will likely have to close."

Supporters of private schools fear that the upheaval could loosen the education system, especially after Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador scrapped reforms that would raise teaching standards in Mexico. As is well known, Mexico is one of the countries with the worst performance for Economic Cooperation and Development.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, schools were among the first institutions ordered to close in March. As many as 30 million students from approximately 216,500 public schools and five million private school students, have stopped participating in teaching and learning activities.

Mexico has since recorded more than 60,000 deaths from COVID-19. That figure is the third highest of the COVID-19 pandemic death rate globally. In an effort to retain pupils and funding, private schools try to lure in parents with discounts, scholarships and other benefits.

"It's ridiculous. They reduced (tuition fees) 3%, but previously they increased it 30% in the previous cycle," said Alicia Martinez, who since the start of the crisis started struggling to support her two children in private school.

Mexico claims the COVID-19 pandemic has recently died down. However, seeing the transmission is still too high, making re-opening schools will be a high risk.

The new school year begins with a home study program broadcast on network television. This method is carried out until the level of transmission of COVID-19 is considered quite low.

"The first day of classes was very chaotic for the kids and the teachers," said Maritza Moreno, a teacher at the private Tlaxcala state school. Textbooks for government television curricula that have yet to arrive in rural communities are giving teachers a hard time. "We don't know anything about the television program," he concluded.