President Claudia Sheinbaum announced that during the six-year term, 330 thousand new places will be created in public and free higher education institutions. In her morning conference, the leader revealed that an additional budget of around 5 billion pesos will be allocated for the new schools, covering from basic education to higher education.
According to Sheinbaum, the lack of spaces in public universities was a consequence of a neoliberal model that considered education a privilege instead of a right. The president emphasized that in the past, entrance exams functioned as a funnel, preventing many students from accessing higher education.
The Secretary of Public Education, Mario Delgado, detailed that the Rosario Castellanos University will open 30 new campuses with 150 thousand new places, reaching a total enrollment of 206 thousand spaces. The University of Health will create 10 new campuses with 25 thousand spaces, reaching an enrollment of 29 thousand; while the universities for Wellbeing Benito Juárez García will establish 50 new campuses with 40 thousand spots, totaling 110 thousand spaces.
The National Technological Institute of Mexico will expand its capacity with 85 thousand new spaces, and the National Polytechnic Institute will incorporate 30 thousand new places. For her part, Rosaura Ruiz, in charge of the Secretariat of Science, Humanities, Technology and Innovation, announced the opening of campuses in Chiapas and Baja California that will offer programs such as bachelor's in foreign trade, economics and sustainable development, engineering in renewable energies, and graduate studies in education and culture of peace.
