Mexican federal educational policy and funding

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has focused on defending key educational programs and policies. Initially, she defended the ‘La Escuela es Nuestra’ program against opposition proposals to transfer maintenance fund control to municipal governments, arguing that direct delivery to parents and teachers ensures efficiency and transparency.

Subsequently, Sheinbaum defended the implementation of universal basic education scholarships, such as the Rita Cetina Universal Scholarship. She argued that financial support should be a right rather than a merit-based reward, noting that socioeconomic factors like food insecurity impact academic performance and that universal aid helps prevent school dropouts by covering essential supplies.

Following the release of the 2025 PISA test results, which showed Mexico performing below the OECD average in mathematics, reading, and science, Sheinbaum addressed the findings by arguing that standardized tests have limitations due to applying uniform metrics to countries with diverse characteristics.

Regarding declining literacy and reading scores, the President noted that these trends were observed across all OECD member nations, suggesting that the use of digital platforms is a contributing factor. While mathematics scores decreased, she noted this was a global trend. Sheinbaum highlighted an increase in science scores as a success for her administration’s ‘Nueva Escuela Mexicana’ educational model, although the OECD report indicated that Mexico’s science results remained largely consistent with 2022 levels.