New Education Model Falls Short of its Goals: Mexicanos Primero

Mexico’s New Mexican School (NEM) model, launched in 2019 as a nationwide model to transform education, is falling short of its goals, reports advocacy group Mexicanos Primero. The reasons behind its problems lay in its rushed implementation, insufficient teacher training, reduced subject content, and delayed textbook delivery, argues the organization.

“There is no evidence that the New Mexican School prioritizes addressing fundamental learning in line with the significant educational lag the country faces,” says Patricia Vázquez, President, Mexicanos Primero, during the presentation of the study Voces desde el aula: La Nueva Escuela Mexicana en la experiencia docente, reports Revista Espejo. 

The research, conducted during the 2023-2024 school year among teachers and principals in Jalisco, Michoacan, Sinaloa, and Yucatan, found that the model’s classroom application diverged from its original intent. Teachers said the program was introduced without adequate preparation, after a planned pilot was suspended in 2022 due to legal challenges. In 2023, the model was rolled out nationwide without clear curricula. Educators reported confusion in applying reduced content in mathematics and other key subjects. Textbooks were delivered late and reliance on digital access proved unfeasible in rural areas. In Sinaloa, organized crime-related violence forced repeated school closures, further disrupting learning.

Teachers described uncertainty in applying the model. “They simply sent all the material and told us to manage as best as we could,” says a primary school teacher in Michoacan. A secondary school teacher in Yucatan says that textbooks arrived two months after the academic year had begun. The report also documented reductions in mathematics content, raising concerns about deepening educational gaps.

In rural areas, the reliance on digital resources proved impractical. “My biggest problem is connectivity. There are no computers or networks; how are children supposed to research?” says a teacher in Sinaloa cited in the report. 

Mexicanos Primero, which has analyzed education policy for 18 years, called for five urgent measures: securing fundamental learning, strengthening teacher training colleges, investing in professional development, improving teaching conditions, and establishing a functional evaluation system.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Public Education (SEP) is proposing new measures to strengthen upper secondary education. In August, SEP introduced the Marco Curricular Común de la Educación Media Superior (MCCEMS), a common curricular framework for nearly 18,000 schools. The MCCEMS seeks to standardize academic content, facilitate student mobility and integrate transferable skills for both higher education and the labor market. It also updates technical education with new programs in robotics, AI, semiconductors, and digital animation.

The reforms coincide with broader debates on education quality and equity in Mexico. While Mexicanos Primero points to structural weaknesses in the NEM’s rollout, SEP’s recent initiatives aim to modernize secondary education, increase technical specialization and align academic training with labor market needs.

The 2025-2026 academic year, the first to be fully overseen by President Claudia Sheinbaum, will test whether these measures can address long-standing challenges and ensure the right to education for children and youth across the country.