Mexico’s education minister announced the country has overturned its decision to end the school year six weeks early due to the World Cup and hot weather.
Mario Delgado announced their school year will end on July 15 as originally planned, a reversal of the decision made just days earlier to end school on June 5.
The earlier end date would have lopped six weeks from the school calendar. The move was considered because of “an extraordinary heatwave, the World Cup and other factors,” Delgado said.
The education department faced backlash when it originally said it would be closing schools early because of traffic from the 13 World Cup matches in Mexico and scorching temperatures, according to Mexico News Daily.
Mario Delgado, Mexico’s education minister, announced that the length of the country’s school year will not change. Eyepix Group/LightRocket via Getty Images Critics of the proposal, such as the National Union of Parents, cited the fact that only three Mexican cities — Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey — will be hosting the soccer competition from June 11 to July 19.
The reasons for the original plan to shorten the school year were traffic from the 13 World Cup matches and scorching temperatures. Bloomberg via Getty Images They also pointed out that Mexico has never shortened the school year due to weather – not even in 2024, the hottest summer on record since 1880.
After the public outcry, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum was forced to backpeda, and stated slashing days from the school year was merely “a proposal,” according to the BBC.
