The COVID-19 pandemic put education in Mexico at risk 

The COVID-19 pandemic forced Mexico to suspend the majority of its socio-economic activities, thousands of families saw one or more family members lose their jobs or the cancelation of their source of income, in many cases, this led to the alteration of their lifestyles, especially in areas such as education , where the sudden lack of resources forced families to send their children to public schools.

The crisis did not only affect children who attended private schools, yesterday EL UNIVERSAL revealed that students at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) may have to drop out of university as the economic crisis makes it impossible to continue studying.

The UNAM students, both in high school and university, could be forced to drop out and start working to help their families. Others would drop out of school because they don’t have the necessary equipment to study at home. Moreover, some students could face traumatic family situations caused by the lockdown.

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Although these situations are not exclusive to UINAM students, the problem is so serious for this university that it could lose 20% of its students. At the moment, 10% had requested a leave of absence for the upcoming semester, while another 10% could drop out during the next year.

For students at private universities, who will be forced to look to enter public universities, Mexico City’s Autonomous University (UACM) offered them access to their educational system amid the economic crisis caused by the pandemic.

Nevertheless, any offer has to include a wide range of options. Universities cannot offer a seat for thousands of students while the academic level or the studying conditions are not the best. Perhaps the offer would solve a social issue, but it would certainly overcrowd schools, something that would also affect the quality of education. If the situation continues through this same path, Mexico is at risk of having a generation of professionals that did not receive the best education, this would compromise the national development.

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