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Education system of Mexico is renowned for its quality. Lean more on the educational system of Mexico through this article.

Education System of Mexico

Education is a process in which knowledge is passed from generation to generation. In a broader sense, education is a physical process that enlightens the mind, character, knowledge, values and skills of a person. Every country has its own educational system. The education system is highly dependent on the social, cultural and economic background of the country. The system is liable to change and updating in order to increase the quality and competency. Education involves teaching and learning. An educational system is essential to organize different processes of education under a common arrangement. In Mexico, the education sector is under the control of 'Secretariat of Public Education'. All private schools should register with this institution for accreditation. Mexico has freed its educational system devoid of religious privileges. Mexican government cares to provide free school education for its citizens but foreign students has to pay tuition fees. Education system in Mexico is highly organized and efficient. As per the statistics of 2004, the literacy rate in Mexico is 91%. Most private and public schools use Spanish as the primary language. Mexican universities and institutionshave proved its quality and competency and the country has become a favorite academic destination for students across the world. Read on further for more details on the educational system of Mexico.

Higher Education opportunities And Academic Scenario In Mexico

Basic Structure

The basic school education comprises three parts - primary school or primaria, junior high school or secundaria and high school or peparatoria. Primary schools offer grades from 1-6 and are attended by children 6-12 years old. Some primary school offers bilingual education in which the medium of education is Spanish for half-the-day and a second language (may be English or French) for rest of the day. Junior secondary schools are also the part of compulsory education. It comprises grades from 7-9 and are attended by students of age 12-15 years. Specialized subjects like physics, Chemistry, Biology, world History etc. are taught at this level. Higher education comprises grades from 10-12 and is attended by students from 15-18 years old. High school or Prepatoria is divided into six semesters. First 2 semesters have common curriculum and the later semesters deal with specialization subjects such as physical science and social science opted by the students. Higher education takes US system as a model with 4 years for Bachelor's degree (Licenciatura), 2 years for Masters degree (Maestria) and 3 years for Doctorate (Doctorado).

Quality Assurance
  • Although Mexico is renowned for its quality education, there are some institutions that provide very poor quality education and such institutions are referred to as 'patitos'. Mexico has set several criteria to check the quality of institutions and educational programs offered by them.
  • Public universities are autonomous and are allowed to develop their curriculum themselves but, private universities should obtain official recognition from Mexican ministry of education for each program provided by them. This recognition is called RVoE (Reconocimiento de Validezoficial de Estudios ).
  • CIEES and CoPAES are the two organizations recognized by the Mexican ministry of Education and these organizations are given the responsibility to evaluate and accredit the educational programs offered by both private and public institutes for higher education. List of accredited programs are published in the official page of CoPAES.
  • FIMPES is an organization that accredits programs offered by private institutions.
  • All PH.D. programs and Master's courses listed in the PNP are recognized by CoNACYT (The national council for science and technology) and Mexican ministry of education
Admission
Admission procedures depend on the university and details can be availed by contacting university office directly or through the website. Public universities provide free education (conditions may apply) while private institutions charge tuition fees.

International Students
Higher education is the sector which attracts most of the overseas students to Mexico. A large number of overseas students seek admission to Mexican Universities every year. Mexican universities, both private and public, welcome foreign students. There are certain selection criteria for international students and those who satisfy these criteria can find seat in Mexican higher education institutes. overseas students have to submit some additional documentation asked by the university.

Mexican educational system is simple and efficient. Hope this article helped you to understand it effortlessly.