Laura Poy Solano
La Jornada Newspaper
Saturday, January 3, 2026, p. 11
The Colegio de Bachilleres (Colbach), with nearly 90 thousand students, faces urgent challenges to address the gaps that exist in the basic learning of its students, since 46.3 percent have insufficient mastery of language and communication and 70.4 percent do not have basic knowledge of mathematics.
According to a diagnosis released as part of its institutional program, the physical and mental well-being of the young people who attend its classrooms is another priority, as it recognizes that one of the main challenges is combating their sedentary lifestyle, as well as addressing their physical and mental health.
It emphasizes that at least 70 percent of those who train in one of the 20 schools it has (17 in Mexico City and three in suburban municipalities: Tlalnepantla de Baz, Nezahualcóyotl and Ecatepec) recognize that they require support for decision-making, social skills and sexual education.
Added to this is that the majority would be willing to receive guidance on how to access a healthy diet, and at least six out of every 10 students would like to have support on issues of self-esteem, anxiety and stress management, as well as controlling fears; More than 45 percent would agree to receive counseling for the management of depression and aggression.
Health needs
The Colbach, highlights the document distributed in the Official Gazette of the Federation“must prioritize the creation of an environment that not only offers recreational activities, but also comprehensively addresses the health, autonomy and personal development needs of students.”
Regarding the academic performance of the students, it stands out that their terminal efficiency (52.6 percent) is “significantly lower than the national average” for this educational level, which was 76.3 percent during the 2023-2024 school year.
The above, Colbach recognizes, “evidence the presence of structural challenges in the quality of the training process and in the institutional capacity to guarantee the retention of relevant learning and the successful graduation of students.”
Although it identifies that actions have been promoted to improve the learning of its students, it considers that among the causes that have influenced the problem, which affects the ability to raise the expected level of educational excellence, include: limitations in the optimal implementation of the 2023 Curriculum, whose foundation is the Common Curricular Framework of Higher Secondary Education; as well as different challenges in the effective application of innovative and differentiated pedagogical strategies that allow addressing the diversity of forms of learning.
Another of the problems detected in the diagnosis are the difficulties in the formative and summative evaluation of learning, since it does not always provide effective feedback to the teaching process.
Finally, it highlights the need to strengthen students’ development of critical thinking, argumentative writing and logical-mathematical thinking.
