50% of students in Mexico attend schools in poor condition: OECD

The proportion of 15-year-old Mexican students who attend schools where infrastructure deficiencies hinder teaching rose from 37% in 2022 to 50% in 2025, an increase of 13 percentage points, according to the results of the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA 2025), from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The figures come from the context questionnaires administered to school principals, who indicated to what extent the conditions of buildings, grounds, and facilities, as well as lighting, heating, cooling, and acoustics systems, hinder educational activities. Irma Villalpando, who holds a doctorate in Pedagogy and is an academic at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), explains that learning involves external factors, such as the home and parental involvement, and internal factors, among which teacher performance stands out, followed by educational materials and infrastructure. For the specialist, the problem affects students from disadvantaged families more strongly, as they may lack books and computers both at home and at school. In contrast, students with greater resources have the possibility of compensating for some of their schools' deficiencies. "A social deprivation will always impact the most vulnerable," she states. Therefore, she believes that an equity policy should allocate greater support to those with fewer resources at home. Educational deficiencies also extend to the materials used to teach classes. In 2025, 48% of students attended schools where their insufficiency hindered teaching, compared to 44% in 2022. The OECD includes in this indicator textbooks, computer equipment, library materials, and laboratory resources. Villalpando warns that good infrastructure does not substitute for teacher preparation. "If you have a good teacher and a poor school, it is much better than if you have a very well-equipped school and a very bad teacher," she maintains. And she adds: "The winning formula is a very good teacher in a very well-equipped school." Material deficiencies coincide with academic results below international averages. Photo: EL UNIVERSAL ARCHIVE PISA also reveals that 29% of students attend schools whose principals report difficulties teaching due to a lack of teachers, while 41% study in schools where the shortage of support staff harms educational activities. The proportion related to the lack of teachers is below the OECD average of 39% and showed no statistically significant variation compared to 2022, according to the organization. Material deficiencies coincide with academic results below international averages. In science, only 50% of Mexican students reached at least the basic level of proficiency, compared to 74% in the OECD. In reading, the proportion was also 50% in Mexico, versus 69% across the organization's member countries. The assessment does not establish that infrastructure shortcomings are the direct cause of these results. However, it documents a 68-point difference in science between Mexican students from the 25% of households with the greatest socioeconomic advantages and those from the 25% with the fewest resources. For Villalpando, the La Escuela es Nuestra (LEEN) program is insufficient in the face of the shortcomings of the National Education System. She considers it necessary to increase the budget and review its allocation, without separating infrastructure investment from teacher training. "Education needs strong and sustained injections of material resources," she notes. At the same time, she proposes strengthening continuing education and incentives for serving teachers, as well as improving initial training at teacher training colleges, a transformation whose results would take several years. "The urgent and priority task is to improve those who are already in classrooms teaching," the specialist emphasizes. In Mexico, PISA 2025 was administered to 7,843 students from 297 schools, a representative sample of approximately 1,581,000 school-age 15-year-old adolescents, equivalent to 69% of the national population of that age. The results were published by the OECD on September 8, 2026. Education expert Fernando Ruiz Ruiz considers the increase in students affected by infrastructure deficiencies worrying, although he clarifies that the indicator does not mean that half of Mexican schools are in poor condition, but rather that it measures the proportion of students whose principals report material obstacles to teaching. "School infrastructure is not just a matter of buildings, classrooms, or equipment. It is a fundamental condition for guaranteeing the right to education," says Ruiz Ruiz. He recalls that the diagnoses of the National Institute for Educational Evaluation (INEE) identified accumulated disadvantages in indigenous, community, and rural schools, particularly in basic services and equipment. In his view, the problem has been documented for more than a decade, and it is not enough to count the money invested or the schools benefited. "We need to know which shortcomings have been resolved, which persist, where they are concentrated, and whether the interventions are effectively improving the conditions for teaching and learning," he proposes. He acknowledges that the direct administration of resources by school communities helps identify needs, but insists on accompanying it with financing, technical assistance, supervision, and follow-up. "The responsibility for guaranteeing decent, safe, and functional schools remains with the State," he affirms. Ruiz maintains that PISA should serve to evaluate the effectiveness of infrastructure policies and their impact on inequalities. "It is not enough to invest in schools; we need to make sure that those investments reduce inequalities and allow all students to learn in adequate conditions," he emphasizes. You may be interested in: Sheinbaum follows up on the cleanup of Lake Pátzcuaro; it is part of the Michoacán Plan "El Talibán" of "Los Chapitos" linked to trial; accused of carrying weapons exclusive to the Army Secretariat of Women bets on menopause without taboos; holds conferences to prevent workplace discrimination Join our channel! EL UNIVERSAL is now on WhatsApp! From your mobile device, find out the most relevant news of the day, opinion articles, entertainment, trends, and more. bmc