Education in Mexico

Basic schooling is required for Mexican children between the ages of 6 and 14 years old. Around 93 percent of such schools in Mexico are public schools, the remainder being private schools. There is also the option of sending 3 to 5 year olds to a pubic preschool in Mexico for free, but it isn't required. There is also the option of continuing this basic education past the age of 14 with 3 years of upper secondary education, and then higher education at a university, college, or institute. Grades in Mexico are either scaled from 0 to 10, with 6 passing, or else they follow a letter scale of MB (muy bien, very good); B (bien, good); S, (suficiente, sufficient or satisfactory) and R, (reprobado, fail). The academic year in Mexico lasts from the month of September until the end of June.

Even with this freely available government schooling system, private school is still a popular choice with foreign expats and wealthier Mexican families. In higher education, there are some 500 public universities in Mexico, as well as about 700 private ones. The largest of the universities in Mexico, with 250 thousand students, is the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico.