The impact of COVID-19 on education provision to indigenous people in Mexico

Abstract As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, measures have been taken globally to shut down schools at all levels and move education to the online arena, which entails a strong dependence on access to the internet and electronic gadgets. Measures such as these are bound to deepen already existing inequality and bring about major disruptions in the students’ learning process. In this context, the makeup of our diverse Mexican society and school communities calls for a political framework that promotes equal education and ensures a way of constructing knowledge that is accessible to all; a perspective in education that respects traditional groups and cultures, especially those who are usually financially disadvantaged, such as indigenous people. This article examines measures taken to support provision of online education, in general, and indigenous groups, in particular. The data collection approach to support the findings consisted of reviewing official websites from UNESCO, the Mexican Ministry of Education, and three states with the largest number of indigenous people (IP). The findings suggest that the production of TV programs and school booklets in indigenous languages show a considerable effort to reach out to indigenous communities throughout the country. Nevertheless, the measures taken by the national and state governments may still be deemed limited and somewhat biased in favor of monolingual students.

摘要
受新冠疫情（COVID-19 pandemic）影响，全球范围内均出台了关停各级各类学校、将教育活动全面转向线上的举措，此举使得教育活动高度依赖互联网接入与电子设备。此类举措势必加剧既有的教育不平等，并对学生的学习进程造成严重冲击。
在此背景下，墨西哥多元的社会与学校社群亟需构建一套推动教育公平、保障全民可及的知识建构路径的政策框架；该教育理念需尊重传统群体与本土文化，尤其是那些通常处于经济弱势地位的群体，例如原住民（indigenous people）。
本文针对支持线上教育开展的各类举措展开研究，尤其聚焦于面向原住民群体的相关支持措施。本文支撑研究结论的数据收集方式为：梳理联合国教科文组织（UNESCO）、墨西哥教育部以及原住民人口最多的三个州的官方网站公开信息。
研究结果显示，制作原住民语言的电视节目与校本手册，体现了墨西哥政府为覆盖全国原住民社群所付出的显著努力。然而，国家与州级政府所采取的相关举措仍存在局限性，且在一定程度上偏向单语学生。