The Rosario Castellanos University campus will start with 800 students as Mexico pursues 750,000 additional places in upper-secondary and higher education.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum inaugurated a new campus of the National Rosario Castellanos University in Nicolás Romero, State of Mexico, on Sunday, as her government pushes to expand access to public higher education. The campus will open with 800 students, half attending in person and half through distance learning.

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The government also announced plans to build a Margarita Maza high school and expand the university campus. All students at the new facility will be eligible for the Gertrudis Bocanegra scholarship, which will cover transportation costs.

The initiatives form part of the government’s goal of creating 750,000 additional places in upper-secondary and higher education during Sheinbaum’s six-year term. The target includes 400,000 new places at the upper-secondary level and 350,000 in higher education. Sheinbaum said 250,000 places had already been created through the construction of universities.

La educación abre todas las puertas para las y los jóvenes mexicanos.

Hoy inauguramos una nueva sede de la Universidad Nacional Rosario Castellanos en Nicolás Romero, Estado de México. pic.twitter.com/YKSk9jko3h

— Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo (@Claudiashein) October 12, 2026

Text Reads: Education opens all doors for young Mexican women and men. Today we inaugurate a new campus of the Rosario Castellanos National University in Nicolás Romero, State of Mexico.

Addressing students, teachers and officials at the inauguration, Sheinbaum described education as a means of reducing inequality and expanding opportunities for young people.

“Education opens doors and allows us to build relationships through knowledge and community. It closes the door to violence and crime, should close the door to corruption, and open every door for young Mexicans,” she said.

Sheinbaum recalled her involvement in the University Student Council movement in the 1980s, when she was studying at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). The movement opposed an increase in tuition fees and helped preserve the university’s virtually free education system, which requires only a voluntary contribution.

“Since then, I have believed that education is at the heart of the country’s transformation. It is what gives us equality, not only through knowledge but also by teaching us how to think,” she said.

The president urged students to think critically about their use of mobile phones and social media, asking how much time they spent on platforms such as TikTok, Facebook and Instagram. She warned that infinite-scroll algorithms can keep users exposed to the same content and called for greater emphasis on reading and independent thought.

She also cautioned against relying uncritically on artificial intelligence to complete school assignments, stressing that students must learn to think for themselves.

“That is what university is for: acquiring knowledge and values such as equality, Mexico’s sovereignty, independence, democracy and freedom,” Sheinbaum said. She described the Rosario Castellanos University as a place where students can develop intellectual freedom and pursue lives of well-being and dignity.

Sheinbaum urged students to complete their degrees and said the government would help those who encounter difficulties during their studies. “We want every student to graduate,” she said. The inauguration was attended by Nicolás Romero Mayor Yoselin Mendoza, State of Mexico Governor Delfina Gómez and Education Secretary Mario Delgado.

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