Mérida, Yucatán — President Enrique Peña Nieto addressed 10,000 Yucatecan adults on Thursday who earned educational certificates after dropping out of school in their youth.
The Special Certification Program is to make an “accelerated effort” to reach the country’s 30 million adults who did not complete their primary or secondary-level education when they were children. Given a second chance to pass their courses and earn their diplomas, the adults now crowded the convention center to meet the country’s chief executive.
The ceremony at the Siglo XXI convention center was huge, and under tight security, the president was cheered on by an enthusiastic crowd.
Secretary of Education Aurelio Nuño Mayer, Secretary of Social Development José Antonio Meade Kuribeña, and Secretary of Tourism Enrique de la Madrid also attended.
The purpose of the Special Certification Program or Programa Especial de Certificación, is to establish basic education based on work experience and self-taught knowledge.
