Quality and equity in education: A perspective from Mexico

Abstract

I write from the other side of the world, in both geographical and economic terms. Mine is a third-world country, Mexico. Over 50 % of the population lives in poverty. Even though we are a member of the OECD, I do not really understand why we occupy the last places in the PISA exercises, together with many other poor countries. We are neighbors to the largest drug-consuming country in the world, the USA, and have lately become victims of drug-related violence. The country's average schooling is 8.4 years.