Students from the ITESO, UNIVA, UVM universities and the Instituto de Ciencias high schools, as well as pupils from private primary and secondary schools, were joined by parents and teachers in voicing their opposition to the plan to slap value-added tax at 16 percent on all private education.
“The intention was to take a picture (of the protest) to send to every federal deputy and senator in Jalisco to show them that parents and students are unhappy with the proposed tax reforms,” explained Pedro Kumamoto, president of the ITESO student body.
Private education in Mexico is not considered a luxury as in many other western countries. Grave concerns over the standard of the public education persists among the country’s middle classes, and there are not enough higher education public schools to cater to the number of students that want to enroll each year.
The University of Guadalajara, Mexico’s second largest public educational institution, has to reject 54 percent of applicants at college level and 30 percent at high school level, according to data from the Control Escolar de la Universidad. Meanwhile, Mexico City’s UNAM, the nation’s largest public university, rejected 92 percent of applicants at college level last year.