For those who might be thinking of taking grandchildren or children to Mexico you’ll find this very interesting.

Basic education is free (and mandatory) from ages six through eighteen. That stipulates a child will receive schooling and books, but all else must be provided by parents (uniforms, pencils, pens, etc.).

Preschool covers children aged three through five and is generally provided in three grades. Preschool is free.

You’ll be happy to know that one of the high priorities of the Mexican Government is education, and the budget has continued to increase in recent years. In fact, the education budget has increased significantly. The budget has increased by almost 25% over the last decade. As a result, there has been a dramatic increase in school enrollments over the past few years

That being said, their education system, like our own, is not perfect. Although educational levels in Mexico have improved substantially in recent decades, the country still faces some problems. (There are private schools available for your consideration if you are worried about the quality of education for your children.)

From Wikipedia:

The Mexican school system is organized into Basic Education, Secondary Education and Higher Education components as follows:

Basic Education comprises preschool, primary school, and lower secondary school. Preschool covers children aged three through five and is generally provided in three grades. Preschool is free.

Primary education provides at least six years of schooling and is compulsory upon the states to provide free education from age six. There are several educational pathways, for specific population groups, including general education, bilingual-bicultural education, community education for children in the isolated regions of the country, and (4) adult education.

Higher-secondary education (3 years) is considered part of basic education and is compulsory upon the states. For entry, students are required to have successfully completed six years of primary education.

Secondary Education: Upper-Secondary Education is separate from Basic Education. This stage is non-compulsory upon the states and has three pathways: General upper-secondary, Technical professional education, and Technological upper-secondary.

Not all Mexican states have compulsory school attendance laws, and “compulsory education” generally means simply that it is compulsory upon the states to provide for it. It is important to understand that Mexico comprises 31 states and a federal district, and these jurisdictions pass their own laws so long as they do not conflict with federal laws. Compulsory school attendance in the state of Sonora went into effect in the beginning of the 2008 school year. The state of Sonora provides 12 years of free public education for its young people.

Higher education: There are four pathways of higher Education in Mexico: (1) Universities (4-5 year colleges and universities, called the licenciatura), (2) Technical institutes (3-year programs in engineering and management), (3) Teacher-training colleges, offering bachelor’s degrees in the fields of education, and (4) Technological universities, offering two-year programs to prepare students as Higher University Technicians