OECD worried about underperforming students in Mexico

The level of skills and abilities of Mexican students remains "extremely low," despite all the efforts Mexico has made to improve in education said José Ángel Gurría Treviño , Secretary-General of the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development ( OECD ) adding that the problem begins at school and that the educational reform is "important and central, crucial and fundamental for the future of Mexico."

Regrettably, those were the results of Building an effective skills strategy for Mexico , a study Mexico entrusted the OECD.

During the presentation of the study, Gurría emphasized that "it is urgent" to raise the level of skills and abilities of Mexican students since they define competitiveness in the twenty-first century.

According to the last results of the Program for International Student Assessment ( PISA ), 56.6% of the students had underperforming results in Mathematics , 41.7% in Reading , and 48% in Science .

Building an effective skills strategy for Mexico

proposes that the country reinforces the identification and development of "necessary and pertinent" skills.

Otto Granados Roldán

, Head of the Ministry of Public Education ( SEP ), said that some progress has been made, mainly in coverage, yet the country remains two points below Latin America's average, adding that Mexico has not been able to reach Peña Nieto's educational goal proposed at the beginning of his term.

However, Granados Roldán said that higher education is being transformed since it is starting a transition: "We are between a model that does not just die and another that has not just been born."

Read the OECD Skills Strategy Diagnostic Report

Read the OECD Skills Strategy Diagnostic Report Executive Summary

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