Elementary school reform includes teaching all kids English

Schools in Mexico are up for reform. Photo: Getty

English will eventually be taught in all public elementary schools, the head of the Department of Education announced Wednesday.

The goal is to have all students in Mexico speaking both English and Spanish within two decades.

The “México en Inglés” program was announced by Aurelio Nuño Mayer at a primary school in Costa Rica primary school, where he was attending a flag-raising ceremony.

The program is part of a broad educational reform that aims to scrap the current model notorious for relying on rote memorization and complicated bureaucracy. In its place is said to be higher-quality education where teachers are qualified and children “learn to learn” in different ways.

The reforms are based on more than 300,000 observations from teachers, parents and representatives of business and private citizens who provided input, reported Mexico News Daily.

President Enrique Peña Nieto, who first introduced educational reforms in 2013, announced the new model in Mexico City in April.

The new model is expected to be implemented for the first time in the 2018-19 school year. But the reforms have faced stiff resistance from teachers unions that oppose newly required teacher evaluations.

The entire model could be scrapped if 2018 election polls are correct. Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, a leftist politician who has been one of the most vocal supporters of the teachers protesting education reform, is possibly Mexico’s next president.

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