Education Minister Mario Delgado said that the decision to end the school year 40 days early was taken partly due to a heat wave affecting several states.
He added during an event in the northern state of Sonora: “We will end the school year on June 5 because many states are already witnessing high temperatures, and there is also the issue of the World Cup.”
He pointed out, however, that the authorities are considering moving forward the start date of the next academic year, currently scheduled for March 31.
The tournament, jointly hosted by Mexico, the United States and Canada, begins on June 11, when Mexico faces South Africa at home in Mexico City.
Delgado initially announced the decision on Thursday, but President Claudia Sheinbaum said it was just a “proposal.”
“There is no final timetable yet,” she said in her daily press conference. “It is also important that children do not miss their classes.”
Parents were shocked by the decision, which may mean they will have to find and pay for a third month of child care during the summer vacation.
The Mexico Ivaloa Center for Public Policy Research warned that “advancing the end of the school year will affect more than 23.4 million students, through an additional reduction in learning time, in light of existing educational decline and widening disparities.”
For its part, the employers’ union “Coparex” described the decision as “hasty,” warning of disruptions in family schedules and the resulting effects on the labor market.
Officials in the western Mexican state of Jalisco, which is run by opponents of Sheinbaum, said they would not abide by the decision, and would keep schools open until June 30 as scheduled.
Classes will be suspended only during the four days in which the city of Guadalajara, located in the state, hosts the World Cup matches, to meet the “logistical needs” imposed by the event.
