For decades, Mexican leaders and scholars as well as outside observers
have spoken of a Mexican university system in crisis, expressing concern
over student political activism and violence, declining quality of
instruction and facilities, crowded campuses, and lack of employment for
graduates. When the government harshly suppressed a student movement in
1968, world attention focused on the turmoil that was endemic in
university life. During the severe economic slump of the 1980s, the
fundamental weaknesses of the Mexican economy--its inefficiency and
inability to compete in the world--were often attributed to failings of
the university system.
Using original quantitative data on the graduates of all Mexican
universities in a dozen major professional fields since 1929, the author
explores the nature of this purported "crisis" by examining a series of
questions about the Mexican university system: How have the changing
policy priorities of the Mexican government affected the university's
education of professionals? How have the Mexican economy's needs for
professionals shaped the functioning of the university system? Has
Mexico trained "enough" professionals? Have they been trained in the
"right" fields? Has the university been able to respond to demands for
upward mobility through higher education?
The author's detailed analysis reveals a paradox: to the extent that
Mexican universities may not be producing the kinds of expertise needed
for competing in the new global marketplace, that educational quality
has declined gradually over time, and that the university has not
contributed much to social mobility, one may indeed speak of a crisis.
Yet because the university system has reached its present form in
response to demands placed on it be government, the economy, and
society, responding pragmatically to circumstances beyond its control,
the author concludes that the crisis is not fundamentally a university
crisis, but rather one that lies in Mexican economy and society at
large.
