In all Mexico only Chiapas has worse education indicators than Oaxaca. In Oaxaca, 55.3% of the population has not completed primary school. Since 1992, compulsory basic education in Mexico has been comprised of nine grades, six primary and three secondary. The state must also provide one year of preschool education. Beginning in 1992 the federal government transferred to the states the responsibility for providing basic education. In Oaxaca the Instituto Estatal de Educación Pública de Oaxaca (IEEPO) is the operative educational institution, and the main government interlocutor in education. In light of their involvement with the boarding schools for young people located in isolated pueblos with small populations, the Indigenous Education Office of the Secretariat for Public Education and the National Indigenous Institute are also important actors.

1. School Population, Access and Attendance: Of the 830,000 students enrolled in 1994, 77% attended primary schools, 16% secondary schools, and the rest bachillerato institutes and vocational training programs.

Percentage enrollment is highly variable as between different age groups and different regions. While enrollment is 81.1% state-wide, in the Central Valleys it is higher (87%); this is likewise the case in the Isthmus and the Mixtec region (83.75% and 82.3%, respectively). La Cañada is the region with the lowest enrollment for ages 6 to 14 (71.9%, ten percent below the state average); Sierra Sur also has low figures.

The highest enrollment rates are for children ages 8 to 11 years. Enrollment declines quickly after primary school, such that only 33% of youth ages 15 to 19 are in school. Indeed, especially in rural areas, children enroll after the statutory age (6 years). The high incidence of drop-outs from 11 years reflects the early incorporation of young people into production, in either the formal or informal economy, since once the children know how to read and write, the parents, perceiving no immediate benefit from further education, often decide to pull them out of school. Only 33% of young people ages 15 to 19 attend school.

There are no differences in enrollment rates by gender until third grade. In secondary schools there are twice as many boys as girls; this trend continues through university education and graduate studies, where women account for only 25% to 30% of total enrollment.

The concentration of schools and secondary and higher education institutes in the urban centers also limits access to post-primary education for many young people in rural areas. Indeed, the state's capacity to offer secondary education is limited. For example, the INI boarding schools are not open to anyone over 14 years of age, and seldom are they located where there are secondary schools. The scholarships offered by the INI for secondary education are clearly insufficient. The city of Oaxaca has no systems to cover the population of young people who have travelled there to study; this is the first problem cited by the youths we interviewed in Oaxaca, in addition to cultural and social isolation and marginality.

Only the central part of the state surpasses the national average for percentage of youth ages 12 to 14 enrolled in secondary schools, with 39%, as compared to 31% nationally. The regions with larger cities approach the national average.17 La Cañada, Sierra Norte, and Sierra Sur have the highest percentages of youth in this age group who are not enrolled.

Only 5.2% of the indigenous population accedes to middle and higher education (the national average is 26%); of these, there is only one woman for every 15 men. In occupational studies, the difference between the general average (10.8%) and the indigenous population (2%) is even greater. This means that only one in 50 speakers of indigenous languages has university-level studies.¹⁸

2. Efficiency and Quality: The educational situation in Oaxaca in terms of drop-outs and completion of primary school is poor compared to national averages. In 1991-1992 Oaxaca had a 6.4% drop-out rate in the primary schools and a 14.9% repetition rate. It is assumed that for the first two years of primary education the repetition rate is even higher, in some cases 30%. In one case study of two rural schools it was found that the percentage of students held back at least one year in seven was 48% and 63% respectively.¹⁹

For the 1991-1992 school year, only 43.8% of the children who had enrolled completed the six years of primary school. These statistics represent a gain with respect to figures reported for 1988-1989, when drop-out, repetition, and completion rates were 7.5%, 17%, and 40.7%, respectively. Nonetheless, as compared with national figures for 1991-1992, Oaxaca still has low indicators for educational efficiency.20 The figures for indigenous students are even more worrisome.

One indicator of skills learned in basic education is the ability to read and write. Approximately 8% of the population of Oaxaca ages 14 to 19 years is illiterate (1990).21 Regional variations are also important: La Cañada has the highest illiteracy rate, including more than 50% of the women, followed by the Coast region, Sierra Sur, and Sierra Norte.

In Mexico there are no national exams to test academic skills. A 1992 study demonstrated that Mexican students attained mastery over only 53% of the Spanish curriculum (language) and 30% of the math curriculum. There are no breakdowns for the state of Oaxaca, but based on the drop-out rate, repetition rate, and other available data, one can assume that students' mastery over basic skills is precarious.²²

Oaxaca has one of the largest populations of teachers in the country (35,142 in 1993). Nonetheless, there are still problems with coverage. In more than 1,000 primary schools a single teacher covers several grades. Working conditions in rural areas are difficult (isolation, low pay), and absenteeism is high among teachers (up to 28% of the school year in the worst cases). Despite the government's efforts to improve the quality of basic education (e.g. the PARE, or Programa para Abatir el Rezago Educativo: Program to Turn Back Educational Lags), it is estimated that only 30% of teachers and 10% of indigenous teachers have the academic background needed to teach. Nor is there a consistent system for supervision, and there are few opportunities for feedback and continuing education. Other factors that stand in the way of adequacy in basic education is the lack of books, maps, models, equipment, and audiovisuals.²³

3. Indigenous Education: As indicated in Chapter 1, 42% of the indigenous population of Oaxaca over 14 years of age is illiterate. This figure suggests serious shortcomings in the educational system for the indigenous population.

The introduction of bilingual education in the schools in the 1920s has facilitated the learning of basic Spanish literacy by indigenous children. Nonetheless, in practice they have faced serious difficulties in extending this education to a large number of primary schools.

In the state of Oaxaca these obstacles are to be found in most rural communities: the location of communities in distant localities where access is difficult, the lack of boarding schools, the shortage of teachers for complete primary education, and the lack of teaching materials.

At present, the limitations of bilingual education as conceived by the government have forced indigenous communities to offer proposals for complementary education, leading the government to question whether official education has universal application. Nonetheless, proposals will have to be advocated by the indigenous communities themselves, since educational institutions lack the capacity to provide education tailored to each ethnic group.