From “Which one Suits you Best?” to “Which one Can you Afford?”: Inequality and Social Inequity in the Access to Higher Education in Mexico

Abstract

This paper presents an analysis of the results of a survey on the best universities for the 2006-2007 years, of 15 different careers in 56 universities of two states of the Mexican Republic, the Distrito Federal (Federal District) and the Estado de Mexico (State of Mexico), published by the Mexican newspaper Reforma. Among the public and private universities, it is sought to respond to the questioning with respect to in what measure the institutions that charge more by attending their classrooms are better situated in the classification presented, and which is the factor of economic accessibility that implies to attend them. A plan of differentiated flows among the passage from the secondary to the higher education is proposed. An internal typology is utilized for the sub-sector of private institutions: demand absorption, intermediate, and elite. Among others results a clear impact of the inequality is emphasized and social inequity in the possibilities of access to private educational institutions. It is notable that the quantities of private institutions that offer programs of high demand in the traditional professions while the public institutions try to reduce their registration in those areas. The alternatives of those who are rejected in the public institutions face the alternatives to truncate their studies or to continue them in private schools of low cost, absorbent of demand, incurring in greater expenses.