Modern School: Oaxacan Teachers Resist Tests, Merit Pay—Strikes to Spread Throughout Mexico?

Modern School: Oaxacan Teachers Resist Tests, Merit Pay—Strikes to Spread Throughout Mexico?

Oaxacan Teachers Resist Tests, Merit Pay—Strikes to Spread Throughout Mexico?

by Michael Dunn

On May 23, 70,000 teachers struck in Oaxaca, Mexico. They were not asking for raises or better benefits, though they certainly need them. They were demanding better funding for their students and expressing their opposition to the government’s merit pay plan that ties teacher pay to their students’ score on the new national test. Many teachers oppose the test entirely and have refused to administer it, despite the fact that their union president signed a pact with the government accepting the merit pay scheme. The new national education law, Alliance for the Quality of Education (ACE), also replaces tenure with yearly contracts. According to Labor Notes, the teachers also want the Oaxacan government to pay for the schools’ utility bills, rather than charging parents, most of whom are struggling to pay their own bills and feed their children. They also want computers installed in the schools.

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Oaxacan Teachers Strike (from the South Notes website)