The most important educational goals in Mexico are to improve academic achievement and access to higher education, as well as to narrow the gap between urban and rural areas, as well as between public and private schools.[1]  Baja California Sur faces some unique challenges due to the high influx of migrant families from the interior of Mexico who bring children facing malnutrition, illiteracy, and parental pressure to work, instead of attend school.  Transportation to secondary and higher education is particularly problematic for children and youth in rural and outlying urban areas.

According to Baja California Sur’s State Ministry of Education (SEPE), during the 2002-2003 school year, the rate of failure and student drop outs (mainly at the middle and high school levels) was proportionately high, taking into account that Baja California Sur is considered one of the Mexican states with a high degree of educational attainment, with 8.74 years on average, and with the seventh lowest rate of education marginalization.[2]

Although there is broad coverage for all levels of education in the five municipalities, student learning shows deficiencies, especially in middle school and high school, mainly due to a lack of teaching resources.  The main factors that schools have not adequately addressed includes the availability of educational materials, including school libraries, the correlation between the student population’s socio-economic/geographic situation and the quality of education that they have access to, and the inadequate levels of training that teachers receive.[3]