Parents Denounce Unfair High School Assignments in Cancún

Cancún, Quintana Roo — Hundreds of parents and students began the annual search for high school openings this week, with many denouncing what they call an unfair placement process that eliminated entrance exams.

Laura Nah said her daughter had a 9.5 grade-point average yet failed to appear on the initial assignment list. “I’m outraged because this isn’t right,” Nah said. “My daughter had a 9.5 average and she’s not on the list, and the options they give us aren’t suitable because the campuses are too far away, while students with lower averages were assigned spots at the schools they selected.”

The state Education Department acknowledged that Cancún is short 1,987 placements and is offering 300 spots in the “Margarita Maza de Juárez” telebachillerato system as an alternative.

According to the department’s 2026 High School Placement Process report, Benito Juárez, the municipality that includes Cancún, offered 9,407 spaces to 11,394 applicants — a deficit of 1,987. In Playa del Carmen, 3,212 spaces were available for 4,792 applicants, leaving 1,580 without a spot.

Combined, the two municipalities account for more than 3,500 missing spaces. Statewide, the department reported 25,659 available places and 23,916 applicants, which it described as an apparent surplus of 3,567. But that surplus is concentrated in the state’s southern and central municipalities, while Cancún and Playa del Carmen face the greatest strain from a growing young population.