Thousands of private schools in Mexico could close

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Coparmex General Counsel, Rebeca Félix Ruiz, added that this norm hinders the right to education, generates additional costs, and overregulates schools.

Private schools and parents seek to stop the project of the Official Mexican Standard (NOM) with which it is intended to regulate educational institutions in the private sector, because it implies additional costs, hinders access to education and generates over-regulation to the sector that can lead to at the closing of 18 thousand private schools.

If these regulations that affect schools come out, there will be protections, explained schools and representatives of the Employers’ Confederation of the Mexican Republic (Coparmex).

At a press conference in which they referred to the Official Mexican Standard NOM-237-SE-2020, Educational Services-Provisions to which those individuals who provide services in the matter will be subject, the president of the Federation of Private Schools of the State from Morelos, Itzel Carmona Gándara, asked the schools to participate in the public consultation that will close in approximately 12 days, in order to prevent it from being approved, otherwise, they will go to court.

The representative stated: «No particular school in the country is the same as another in its structure and operation, however, the immediate consequence of the entry into force of this regulation would be the closure of 18 thousand schools, days prior to its entry into force. the norm, closure decisions of this nature would be being made.

«This would affect 640 thousand people, among which 540 thousand are boys, girls, adolescents and young people who are going to be left without a space to go to school, and parents without the freedom to choose where to take their children with the NOM-237 to enter into force ”, Carmona Gándara.

The president of Coparmex, José Medina Mora, stated “if it is approved as it is (NOM-237) there would be a regulation of private schools, they are already regulated by the Ministry of Public Education, and it seems to us that the fact that they are considered commercial entities and therefore an additional regulation is meaningless ”.

He explained that they will give all the arguments to the Ministry of Economy, in charge of Tatiana Clouthier, so that the Norm is not approved and added that they have already talked with the General Director of Norms, Jesús Cantú.

For her part, the Executive Director of Operations and General Counsel of Coparmex, Rebeca Félix Ruiz, added that this norm hinders the right to education, generates additional costs, and overregulates schools.

“This hinders the right to education, and generates an over-regulation of the educational sector, putting the existence of schools at risk, consequently, the right to education that our children have as a human right would be put at risk.”

He added that the Ministry of Public Education is responsible for monitoring the schools and with the proposed rule they want to see schools as a business when it is a service of a social nature “it is appropriate for the educational authorities to regulate, monitor, and verify this service since these are the specialist authorities who dominate the particularity of the educational service ».

Cármona Gándara and Félix Ruíz stated that the norm will go beyond the area of ​​competence of the Ministry of Public Education because the educational service is regulated by the third constitutional article and the General Education Law.
The imposition of additional charges affects the right to education of the more than 2.3 million students who attend basic education in private schools and 5.3 million students in the 2021-2022 cycle, if all educational levels are considered.

Source: milenio.com, reforma.com, punto.m

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