The explanation behind the fall in preschool
Claudia Sheinbaum dropped a demographic reality bomb. The president made it clear that the decrease in preschool enrollment is not a drama of desertion, but rather a direct reflection of the fact that fewer and fewer children are being born in Mexico.
“When you reach four years old, compared to previous years, there is no longer the same demand because there are fewer children,” he said from the National Palace. Pure population logic.
And school dropouts?
The president did not act stupid: she acknowledged that yes, some families decide not to register their children. But the core of the problem is demographic. There are no more infants, period.
For the levels where there is a leak – secondary and high school – the government maintains the Benito Juárez program. That scholarship inherited from AMLO has been a lifeline against desertion.
“We miss you in the classroom” — that’s the name of the strategy where teachers and administrators literally knock on doors to bring back students who dropped out of school.
What’s next for the little ones?
Preschool is still optional. Sheinbaum announced that they will evaluate new actions to encourage more families to introduce their children from an early age. But the call was clear:
“Take your children to school from a young age”
Meanwhile, the classrooms have plenty of capacity. The challenge is not space, but convincing parents that the first educational step matters.
