“The Theft of the Century”: Education in Mexico

Robin:

The Mexican government wisely decided that before the educational system in Mexico could be fixed, they first needed to figure out what they were dealing with. For that reason, EPN ordered the first ever Census of Schools, Teachers and Students of Basic and Special Education (basic meaning primary and middle schools).
 
 The results show the magnitude of the problem. Here are some key findings:
 
 1. “39,222 people supposedly assigned to a school in which no one actually knows them (“aviators”)
 
 2. 30,695 people who claim to be teachers, but who in reality work for the SNTE [National Union of Education Workers] or the CNTE [National Coordinating Committee of Education Workers—a dissident teachers group];
 
 3. 113,259 people who claim to be in a school, but who are located “in another place of work” (fugitives)
 
 4. 114,998 people who receive pay as active teachers, but who do it in the name of people who have already retired or passed away.”
 
 And this is a gross underestimate, since the states with “the with the most corrupt and backwards systems (Oaxaca, Chiapas, and Guerrero), refused to participate and were not included in the census.” Yikes.