Mexico Sees 1.26% Drop in School Enrollment for 2024-2025

Mexico’s national school system reported a decline in student enrollment for the 2024–2025 academic year, with 34.37 million students registered, down 1.26% from the previous year. The drop primarily affected public institutions, while the number of teachers saw a modest increase.

María Gutiérrez, Director of Monitoring of Indicators, Mexicanos Primero, tells El Economista that declining population growth is a factor, but other elements, such as reduced academic achievement, limited resources, and waning student interest, also contribute to the decrease.

Enrollment in public schools fell from 29.24 million to 28.77 million students, a 1.6% decline, whereas private school enrollment rose slightly from 5.57 million to 5.60 million students, a 0.5% increase, based on figures from the SEP, as cited by El Economista. 

By education level, preschools and primary schools experienced small reductions, while secondary education, particularly telesecundarias, recorded a 1.72% increase. Early education centers decreased from 5,033 to 5,016, preschools from 87,806 to 87,655, and primary schools from 96,449 to 96,267. Secondary schools, on the other hand,  increased from 42,246 to 42,975.

Despite the enrollment decline, the teaching workforce grew from 2.15 million to 2.18 million, an increase of 1.24%. Public school teachers rose by 0.9% to 1.69 million, while private school teachers increased by 2.3% to 512,082. The largest share of teachers remains in basic education, rising 0.49% to 1.24, while secondary education experienced a small reduction, from 425,826 to 423,587 teachers. Higher education saw the largest growth, from 496,357 to 519,190 educators, a 4.6% increase.