Sudden change for millions of children and parents in Mexico. The Government announced this Thursday that classes will end on June 5, more than a month earlier than the official calendar states. The Secretariat of Public Education (SEP) has stated that the decision was made due to the start of the World Cup, which will be inaugurated in the country’s capital on June 11, and because of the “extraordinary heat wave” recorded in Mexican territory.
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The measure, extraordinary due to the urgency and the way it was announced, has been confirmed on social media by the Secretary of Education, Mario Delgado. The head of the SEP stated that the change was made after a “unanimous” agreement among the State secretariats. “It will be ensured that everything established in the Study Plan is fulfilled, as well as the academic progress of all students,” Delgado justified. The modification in the school calendar will affect about 32.6 million students from public and private schools from preschool to high school.
The agreement establishes that school administrative staff will work until June 12, one day after the start of the World Cup. The return to classes was not changed: it will be on August 31, as planned before the SEP announcement. In a statement, the Secretariat maintained that between August 17 and 28 there will be “two official weeks dedicated to strengthening learning” so as not to “compromise the development of the study plan.” The text does not clarify whether this means that students will have to temporarily interrupt their vacations or if they will have to do work from home.
The statement also clarified that the measure was taken after the ruling National Union of Education Workers (SNTE) submitted a request in “working meetings” of the National Council of Educational Authorities. Additionally, 10 other States in the country presented different “needs” that the SEP also considered to shorten the course, according to the text.
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The SEP announcement has generated confusion and disbelief among families and civil society organizations. So far, it is unclear whether the change, which suddenly adds an extra month of vacation that parents did not expect, will be accompanied by other measures that could make work schedules more flexible to care for children at home. Especially in low-income households where most of the day is spent outside the home or to support working mothers.
In a statement, the National Union of Parents of Family (UNPF) expressed its “strongest rejection and deep indignation” over a decision that did not have the “slightest consent or consideration” from heads of families. “Using the World Cup as an argument to cut the school calendar is unacceptable,” they concluded.
Mexico will host 13 matches of the World Cup, which it organizes together with the United States and Canada. The games to be played in the country will take place in Mexico City, Monterrey, and Guadalajara. FIFA, the governing body of world football, announced in 2018 that the three countries would be the hosts of this year’s event. However, 35 days before the start, the three Mexican cities where the ball will roll are still working against the clock to guarantee the mobility of millions of fans who will arrive for the tournament.
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