When you cheat your way into medical school, begin classes, decide it’s not for you, then end up in law school two weeks later, it says something about the quality of education in Oaxaca, Mexico. That's what happened to María. Her story is enumerated below. What are the implications for American families living in Oaxaca with children attending school in the state capital? When the time comes for college or university, the quality of education available in Oaxaca doesn't cut it for them – or their middle class Oaxacan counterparts.
Oaxaca is anticipating wholesale social change under the governorship of Gabino Cué, including improvement to the quality of education, but how much can he accomplish in six years?
Primary and Secondary School Education for Middle Class Oaxacans and Expats
Most middle class parents in Oaxaca, and virtually all American families in the city, send their children to private schools for primary and secondary education. With teachers in the public school system striking for several weeks beginning each May, and taking days off to march during the rest of the school year, how good an education can a parent expect his child to receive in the public school system?
When school was out for several months in 2006 in the midst of significant civil unrest, children received about ten days' make-up classes, and were then passed to the next grade. A trickle down effect reached private schools. They closed from time to time as well, as a result of the inability of students and teachers to get to class because of road blockades, protesting in front of some of the private schools by members of the teachers’ union, and related causes.
But one can assume the quality of education in private schools is much better than in the public school system. That's what Oaxacans believe. So what is a parent to do when the time comes for university for his children?
College Education for the Children of Mexican or American Residents of Oaxaca
Most Oaxacans who are able to amass sufficient money to send their children out-of-state for university education, do so. The others likely fall into two categories:
- Parents who are financially middle class, but not so culturally
- Parents whose children wish to attend particular professional colleges in Oaxaca which do have a reputation for quality education, such as the school of fine arts, and the graduate program in interpretation and translation, both of which are at campuses of the UABJO
For Americans in Oaxaca, there is easier access to colleges and universities in the US, often because residency has earlier been established in the particular state. Accordingly, many send their children “back home.”
For Oaxacans, if not to the US, Puebla is often the destination of choice because of its proximity to Oaxaca and reputation for quality university education. Parents with family in other states such as Veracruz, Nuevo León, Jalisco and Mexico, may send their children to colleges in those states since housing may be more reasonable, and many universities in the capitals have reputations for excellence.
Are Colleges and Universities in Oaxaca Really That Bad?
Jonathan is a semi-retired mathematician, born in Mexico but spent most of his adult life living outside of Mexico, having taught mathematics for several years at an American university. Jonathan thinks and lives like a middle class American, since he effectively is one. He moved to Oaxaca in 2007.
Jonathan wanted to teach on a part-time basis. He obtained a job teaching math at a local university. He was appalled at the learning environment within which he was required to work: students often not attending class, arriving late, not taking notes; and students failing exams and being able to re-write them, time and again, sometimes the exact same exam, until they passed. It was made clear to Jonathan that he would not be permitted to work towards changing the system. In 2009, Jonathan quit out of frustration.
María's uncle is a doctor teaching at a medical school in Oaxaca. After graduating high school María's uncle gave her the answers to the questions on the medical school entry exam. María began medical school, but decided after three weeks that she did not want to be a doctor. Two weeks later she was in law school. Her aunt is a judge. María graduated about three years ago, and is now a lawyer – working in another uncle’s restaurant for $18 USD a day, as head cashier.
Jobs for Graduates of Oaxacan Colleges and Universities
Working in her uncle’s restaurant María may use some of the skills she learned at law school. But she is still a cashier earning a laborer’s wage. If she ever gets a job using her legal skills, on balance it will be working for government – and without a second job she will never lead the middle class lifestyle to which she aspires. Ensuring that María received a quality education was never a priority for her parents.
Most professionals who have been educated only in Oaxaca need a second job to lead a debt-free life. They have jobs because a large percentage of Oaxacans who have been educated elsewhere, remain outside of the state of Oaxaca, where there is a greater demand for quality university graduates. Those who do return, that is the ones who have traveled abroad to get their undergraduate or graduate degrees, to take courses in their specialized fields, or to achieve English fluency, do well. But the Oaxacan economy can support only so many high achievers. For those educated in Oaxaca, even the bright ones, it’s a struggle.
Note: Between 1991 and 2004, Alvin Starkman visited Oaxaca between two and three times a year, for up to six weeks each trip. He has has been a permanent resident of the city for the past six years, during which time he has become an integral part of both native Oaxacan and expat communities. He has been friends with María Jiménez and her family since 1993, and with Jonathan Katz since 2007.
Alvin Starkman - Alvin Starkman runs Casa Machaya Oaxaca Bed & Breakfast. He is a paid contributing writer for Mexico Today (http://www.mexicotoday.org).
