During the 2023 - 2024 school year, increases in tuition and enrollment did not reach the 7.8% inflation; however, in the following year (2024 - 2025), the trend changed with an inflation of 4.6%. For the 2025 - 2026 school year, schools expect to raise tuition by an average of 5.4% and enrollment by 4.8%, as they anticipate an inflation of only 4.2%, in other words, the increase represents just 1% in real terms.
Andrés Benavides, CEO and co-founder of Cometa, noted: 'The fact that a quarter of schools project increases below 4% indicates that a significant proportion of the sector continues to face challenges in preserving the real value of their income.'
Although the majority shows optimism, schools with religious identity have more moderate growth compared to secular institutions. Among the latter, only 8.8% of respondents anticipate a decline in enrollment, compared to 14% of religious schools that predict a drop. The dropout rate in private schools for economic reasons has ceased to affect 60% of enrollment, as now only 3 out of 10 students leave this educational system for that reason, reflecting an economic recovery after the effects of the pandemic.
It is noted that now half of the dropouts from the private school system are due to relocations or school changes, according to a study by the organization Cometa. Additionally, 79% of private schools project to increase their enrollment for the 2025 - 2026 school year, compared to 65% from the previous year, and only one in 10 schools anticipates a decline.
Benavides added: 'The pandemic hit educational institutions hard, but today we see clear signs of recovery.'
