In fact, Article 3 of the constitution, which regulated education, was one of its most important and lengthy articles. Consequently, government has always played a leading role in the development (or no development) of Mexican public education.This constitutional mandate brought about dramatic growth in the country's educational system, particularly in the secondary system. The number of children attending primary school doubled between 1920 and 1950. And, since 1960, secondary-school enrollment grew from around 100,000 students to almost 2.5 million in the 1970s, to more than four million in the 1980s, and more than 5.5 million in the mid 90s In fact, between 1930 and 1980 school enrollment at all levels increased twelve fold while the population of Mexico quadrupled (Kovacs, 1987, p. 117).However, while the government in recent years has placed emphasis on primary education, opening elementary schools in rural areas and expanding the early educational outreach to all students, these new education opportunities are still not being distributed equitably. And, researchers at Mexico's Center of Educational Studies found that in 1979, of all students who began elementary school, only 78 percent would finish that level of schooling. Further, the study found that only 9.1 percent had any secondary education (Rudolph, 1985, p. 154).Mexico's educational system is composed of three distinct levels: elementary, secondary, and higher education. While primary education is comprised of a six-year, free, compulsory program for all children ages six to fourteen, secondary education is divided into two distinct cycles. The first is basic high school ("ensenanza media basica"), which consists of a three-year program, and the second is "bachillerato" or "preparatoria" which requires an additional two or three years of secondary school (Rudolph, 1985, p. 155).The basic high school cycle includes day schools for adolescents, night schools for wor...
