IOM, in cooperation with the Sinaloa Secretariat of Public
Education and Culture, will carry out a seven-month project to
examine migratory routes in six Mexican states (Chiapas, Chihuahua,
Guerrero, Michoacan, Sinaloa and Sonora) and document existing
access to education for children of internal agricultural labour
migrants, known as jornaleros.

The results of the study will be used to generate a diagnostic
map of the geographical coverage of the country's Basic Education
Programme for Children of Internal Agricultural Labour Migrants
(PRONIM by its Spanish acronym), who move with their parents as
they follow planting and harvesting seasons, and determine where it
should be extended.

"This study will allow IOM and its partners to shed some light
on the needs of a population which is often overlooked in a country
where international migration dynamics regularly occupy the
headlines.  This new cooperation with the northwestern state
of Sinaloa is a good example of IOM's deepening relationship with
federal states entities," explains IOM Mexico Chief of Mission,
Thomas Lothar Weiss.

The project also aims to reinforce and build upon the efforts
made by federal and state governments to provide education and
social services to this largely vulnerable group of the migrant
population in Mexico.

"Another issue is that when these families return to their
communities of origin and try to enroll their children in school,
the classes received as part of the programme for children of
internal agricultural labour migrants are sometimes not recognized
by the regular school system," adds Denisse Velázquez of IOM
Mexico.

The information gathered will also be used to raise public
awareness by highlighting the vulnerability and daily challenges
faced by these children, as well as to increase their safety and
the protection of their rights.

The new research and action lines generated by the study will
provide fresh information for the development of future educational
programmes for migrant children and adolescents in Mexico.

It is estimated that there are some 3.5 million Mexican
agricultural labourers in the country, of which 760,000 are migrant
children and adolescents.

"IOM and the Federal Secretariat of Public Education have agreed
on the importance of documenting and establishing a project to
cater to the needs of these children. There is so little known
about them except that they are highly vulnerable. Their young age
makes them especially vulnerable to human trafficking for labour
exploitation," concludes Weiss.

In Mexico, IOM provides support and assistance to vulnerable
migrants, especially unaccompanied minors and since 2008, it has
trained Mexican Child Protection Officers (OPIs by its Spanish
acronym) and has helped disseminate this initiative in several
Central American countries and the Dominican Republic as part of
the Regional Conference on Migration (RCM).

IOM has also organized and carried out various research projects
offering public policy recommendations. A recent publication,
Central American Child and Adolescent Migrants in Southern Mexican
Populations highlights many of the issues that will be covered
under this new initiative.

For more information please contact:

Denisse Velázquez

IOM Mexico

Tel: +52 55 5536 3922

E-mail: "mailto:dvelazquez@iom.int">dvelazquez@iom.int