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Students from faculties such as Architecture, Political Science, Dentistry and Chemistry finished classes in virtual mode
Diego Raya
Mexico City.- The 2026-1 semester in the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) It originally ended on November 28. However, the activity stoppages delayed the school calendar of some faculties, although without the conditions to resume in-person classes. For the academic Eduardo Betancourtthe year ended in “irreparable” conditions.
The Faculty of Dentistry began a stoppage of academic activities since the end of September. Since then, the students no longer returned to the classrooms and, although their semester was extended until mid-December, the conditions barely allowed students to receive online classes, with a minimal possibility of doing internships.
In the case of Architecture, the strike that began on October 13 forced the Faculty administration to urge teachers to be flexible with the requirements to accredit the subjects corresponding to the semester, as well as to provide advice and reviews to students.
The management of the Faculty of Political and Social Sciences also decided to extend the semester 2026-1 as well as the delivery of final grades, but without the possibility of resuming in-person activities. Therefore, thousands of students receive classes through virtual rooms. Faculties such as Chemistry and Accounting were also unable to reach agreements with the student body to return to face-to-face classes.
“Each strike is an irreparable year,” he warned. Eduardo Betancourt, academic of the UNAMpointing out that prolonged closures generate damage that cannot be recovered no matter how long the semesters are extended. Betancourt described the situation as a growing crisis within the UNAM where, he stated, insecurity, the lack of internal democracy and a bureaucracy converge that has turned students into “automatons incapable of discussing core issues” due to the tense and authoritarian atmosphere that exists in different faculties. He added that the institution has outdated school work methods and a precarious teaching staff that limits the educational quality.
The doctor also denounced the fragility of the university security system, which he described as “pathetic, unionized and absurdly limited.” He pointed out that not only is it incapable of protecting the community, but sometimes it is the surveillance itself that commits crimes.
“There is a mafia of power that distributes the positions; in the UNAM The democracy that is presumed is not practiced,” he concluded. For the academic, the constant strikes and the inability to fundamentally address the problem have placed the University in dramatic conditions, which requires an urgent reform in security, teaching and in its own Organic Law.