Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México

The Autonomous University of Mexico State (Spanish: Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México) (UAEM) is a public university in the State of Mexico, Mexico. It is the largest university institution in the state with over 84,500 students, with its central campus located in the state capital of Toluca. Formalised as a university under the UAEM name in 1956, the institution traces its origins back to 1828 with the foundation Instituto Literario del Estado de México, in the former state capital of Tlalpan. In 1943 the institution was augmented to become the Instituto Científico y Literario de Toluca (ICLA), and thirteen years later obtaining its present name and institutional status.

History

Liberal era

Mexico was born as an independent country in 1821. Don Guadalupe Victoria, the first president of the nation, saw the need to create educational institutions throughout the country to provide education to people, especially the indigenous population, who did not have access to it during colonial times.

The Political Constitution of the State of Mexico was signed in Texcoco in 1827; some of its articles established the creation of an institution that managed all levels of public education. That year, the capital of the state moved to San Agustín de las Cuevas, today known as Tlalpan. It was there, in the Casa de las Piedras Miyeras (House of the Miyeras Stones), that the new Seminary inaugurated by governor Lorenzo de Zavala, started classes on September 4.

On March 3, 1828, this school became the Literary Institute of the State of Mexico, after receiving the approval of the State Congress, which was chaired by José María Luis Mora. While the latter and Lorenzo de Zavala were liberals, each had a different vision for the Institute. Mora believed freedom was the most important moral value that could be transmitted to students, so he thought the Institute had to be financially supported by citizens, without the interference of the state government. However, Zavala advocated toward equality. He believed that a school had to be financed with public funds and scholarships to favour young people from different regions who had limited resources.

It was Zavala's idea that prevailed, thus the local Congress declared that poor and preferably indigenous students should be sent to the Institute from each town or district supported by the public treasury.

The first curriculum included courses on Law, in order to turn young people into fair rulers. Foreign language courses such as French, English and German, were mandatory, since books could only be read in those languages. Likewise, Drawing classes were a must, since they were part of the comprehensive education the Institute intended to provide to students.

In 1830, the seat of the government powers moved to Toluca, and so did the Institute, as stipulated in its creation decree. In Toluca, students were lodged in the Convento de La Merced, which became the first site of the Institute in the capital of the State, but this did not last long. In 1833, Lorenzo de Zavala expropriated a property known as "El Beaterio", with the purpose of locating the Institute there.

"El Beaterio" was a large house in Toluca intended to host "beatas", women who lived under certain rules and were devoted to educating girls. However, this objective was never met. Instead, a chapel and two schools for girls were built, one for the Spanish girls and another for the indigenous ones respectively. After the Mexican War of Independence, since the place had been practically abandoned and was guarded only by a nun, Lorenzo de Zavala decided to expropriate the land and turn it into the new premises for the Institute.

Эх сурвалж: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)