This article was written by Ofelia Angulo Guerrero (Secretary of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation, Mexico City), Martí Batres Guadarrama (Governor of Mexico City) and Rosa María Oliart Ros (Secretary of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation, Mexico City).
- The problem: To ensure free and quality education for all children and young individuals in Mexico City.
- Why it matters: Education is a cornerstone of social transformation and national development.
- The solution: Scholarships programmes to support elementary, middle school, high school and higher education.
In 2015, the United Nations issued the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development as an opportunity for countries and their societies to set upon a new path that improves the lives of everyone, leaving no one behind. The 4th Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) points out that governments should “ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all”. In that regard, education is a crucial component of ending poverty. It contributes to reducing inequalities and achieving gender equality. Moreover, it allows people to have a healthy and sustainable life, promotes tolerance between people and contributes to building peaceful societies (CEPAL, 2019).
Education is key in Mexico City
The Government of Mexico City, in harmony with the fourth SDG, has made education a cornerstone of social transformation and national development. Based on the belief that education is a right rather than a privilege, governments must guarantee that this administration has developed and implemented programmes that support elementary, middle school, high school and higher education.
The educational system of Mexico City — both public and private — provides education to nearly three million children, teenagers and young adults, of which 51% are women and 80-90% go to public school. A noteworthy initiative was the establishment of the Instituto de Educación Media Superior (IEMS) in 2000, targeting areas with insufficient educational resources. In the present administration, six new IEMS campuses have been constructed, resulting in a 21.4% increase in enrolment since 2019.
Basic education support programmes
From the outset, the administration has prioritised ensuring 12 years of free, inclusive and quality education for all children and young individuals in Mexico City. It is also a primary concern that all families have sufficient economic resources to ensure that their children finish this level of education. Notably, the goal extends to indigenous, migrant, or differently abled children, emphasising access to professional resources within inclusive educational environments. This is a significant challenge given Mexico City's dense population. The SEP (Secretariat of Public Education) reported that during the 2022-2023 school year, nearly 1.2 million students attended public schools out of the 1.4 million enrolled.
The results from the programmes underscore the importance of continuing and replicating these successful programmes throughout Mexico.
Five successful socio-economic support programmes — benefitting 1.25 million children and adolescents — have been implemented. These include Bienestar para Niñas y Niños-Mi Beca para Empezar (wellbeing for all children - scholarship), La Escuela es Nuestra-Mejor Escuela (improving school facilities), Uniformes y Útiles Escolares (uniforms and school supplies), Seguro contra Accidentes Personales de Escolares Va Segur@ (accident insurance programme for children and school staff) and Internet para Tod@s (internet for all, that provides free wi-fi in public schools). Importantly, these programmes are universal and accessible to all attending public schools in Mexico City. They were established based on the regulatory framework for the protection of early childhood, children and adolescents, which was structured following international treaties as well as constitutional and national laws like Article 3 of the constitution and the education law issued in 2019. The political constitution of Mexico City contains the constitutional foundation for Bienestar para Niñas y Niños-Mi Beca para Empezar programme, to ensure its continuity (Congreso, 2023).
The 5 socio-economic support programmes in focus
Wellbeing for All Children Scholarship: In terms of investment and coverage, this social programme — unique in the country — is the most extensive in Mexico City. It was initiated in 2019 to strengthen the family income (particularly of low-income families) and to minimise elementary and middle drop-out rates in public schools and Multiple Attention Centres (CAM) in Mexico City.
It replaced Niños Talento, aimed at just 100,000 students with the highest grades. It did not consider that school performance heavily relies on a family income that provides healthy nutrition and an adequate environment for children to focus on their studies. The programme grants a universal monthly stipend of 600 pesos for preschool level and 650 for primary and middle school, credited directly to the families through a debit card for 10 months, guaranteeing 12 years of economic support (15 years, if we also consider, at a national level, the Benito Juárez Scholarship granted by the federal government for public high school students).
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Since November 28th, 2022, it holds constitutional status, as indicated in the political constitution of Mexico. Therefore, the constitution guarantees its continuity and establishes that the amounts cannot be less than the amount granted the year before. The budget for this scholarship has seen a fivefold increase, reaching 5.4 million pesos in 2022.
Improving School Facilities Programme: Originally established in Mexico City and now nationwide, this programme aims to enhance the infrastructure and operating conditions of public schools by providing universal financial support through parents' associations. This programme is also included in the political constitution of Mexico City. The annual budget allocated to this programme has been used for the improvement of 2,785 elementary, middle, CAMs and special education schools in Mexico City’s municipalities.
School Uniforms And Supplies Programme: Continuing in this administration, the programme targets students enrolled in Mexico City’s basic education public schools, providing financial support for uniforms and supplies to generate household savings.
Accident Insurance Programme for Children and School Staff: This universal emergency medical care programme covers students, teachers and school staff from elementary, middle school and high schools in Mexico City’s public schools. It includes travel to and from facilities, as well as curricular and extracurricular activities.
Free wi-fi in Public Schools Programme: Mexico City, recognised as the world's most connected city, provides free wi-fi in all public primary and middle schools, contributing to educational access, reducing inequalities and encouraging digital learning.
Supplementary programmes
School meals: Prioritising areas with high social marginality, this programme provides nutritious meals, nutritional education and economic resources to parents to purchase food. Its objective is to reduce malnutrition, anaemia and obesity problems in the long run. The programme promotes self-management and active involvement.
Leona Vicario scholarship: This scholarship consists of monthly stipends and provides comprehensive psychological and medical assistance to children and adolescents in high-vulnerability situations.
Results and accolades
The Bienestar para niñas y niños-Mi beca para empezar programme (Well-Being for All Children Scholarship) has been recognised by UNICEF for its innovative and trendsetting approach and its significant impact on education, particularly among children and adolescents of low-income families. Furthermore, the autonomous organisation Evalúa has recognised (Romero, 2022) that the financial aid programmes for basic education have played a significant role in supporting household economies, particularly for families living in poverty, in improving overall education quality and contributed to reducing dropout rates in schools during the COVID-19 pandemic. The scholarships represented an important income for families facing poverty, while at the same time helped to provide distance education during the pandemic. In this context, it is also worth highlighting the impact of living conditions on school performance – several studies have demonstrated that good nutrition is closely associated with both brain and cognitive development. Malnutrition as a consequence of poverty negatively impacts on behaviour, school performance and the overall health of children, limiting their social development in the long run. Fortunately, due to neuroplasticity, most of these damages can be reversed by the improvement of nutrition and overall living conditions (Roberts, 2022).
The current administration's commitment to free quality education is evident in the significant increase in investment (29.4 million pesos) compared to the previous administration. Notably, some programmes are enshrined in the political constitution of Mexico City, guaranteeing continuity and preventing decreases in funding.
The importance of the programmes highlighted in this article that have been developed and implemented by Mexico City’s government for the sake of justice, inclusion and quality in education, is indicative of its deep commitment to improving the wellbeing of the population. The results from the programmes underscore the importance of continuing and replicating these successful programmes throughout Mexico for the benefit of the whole population.
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