More than 3,400 students went from private to public schools in Yucatán

Tuition fees do not reflect an important utility, says Elías Dájer, from Amepac

In 2020, the Ministry of Education of Yucatán (Segey) registered that at least 3,418 students moved from private schools to public schools, this due to the fact that parents no longer had the financial resources to pay tuition due to the crisis caused by the new coronavirus (COVID-19).

The students who had to be enrolled in public schools belong to the preschool, primary and secondary levels, mainly and now they are part of the 507,298 students who officially started the Learn at home program last Monday, January 11.

This data on the transition of students from private to public schools, adds to another provided by Sergey in which it indicates that, since the beginning of the pandemic, at least 43 private schools had to close their doors.

Of the total number of schools that closed during 2020, 30 belonged to preschool, eight to primary schools, and five that provided secondary education.

In this regard, the president of the Mexican Association of Private Schools of Yucatán AC (Amepac), Elías Dájer Fadel, pointed out that they have a total of 700 schools in the entity from preschool to high school levels, and of these, 260 are affiliated.

Of this number of schools that are part of the Amepac, at least 20 reported their closure in the middle of the pandemic. 

“Private schools are not businesses, they are associations of people from civil society that provide a support service to the Ministry of Education and tuition fees do not reflect an important utility. These schools that closed is because they had little operating margin, “he explained.

It also indicated that the majority of the students from these schools went to public schools.

However, he emphasized that the rest of the private schools are projects that continue to be established, offering distance classes because the health of students, parents, and teachers is important.

At the beginning of the year 2021, schools have received a greater request from students who had to migrate to public education, so Elías Dájer indicated that private institutions are preparing with various schemes for parents to share their situation economic and between both parties discover a plan that they can carry out.

“We are trying to contemplate the people who could not pay last school year, but as we return to normalcy, they may have the possibility of returning to schools because each student is a life project of parents, schools, and those of us who lead the schools ”, he pointed out.

Likewise, private schools foresee an increase in applications for admission for the next school year.