Mexico’s First National School Of Forensic Science Announced By UNAM

The establishment of Mexico's first school of forensic science has been given the go-ahead by the National Autonomous University (UNAM), which claims it will be a leader in the advancement of the discipline in Mexico and contribute to the delivery of justice by providing more reliable scientific evidence, Mexico news Daily reported.

The National School of Forensic Sciences (ENaCiF) will enhance the reputation of its present bachelor's degree in forensic sciences, which is now managed by the Faculty of Medicine, and offer additional entry points for students to the field, the UNAM indicated in a statement.

92 students have previously graduated from the present undergraduate program, which is now in its seventh generation of students. They later went on to work for a variety of organizations in the judicial and human rights sectors, such as the National Commission for Missing People, the Executive Commission for Attention to Victims, and the Attorney General's Office, among others.

The UNAM presented a nine-year plan to improve the teaching of forensic science together with the transfer of this undergraduate program to the ENaCiF. To begin, the Bachelor of Forensic Sciences program will enroll twice as many students, and a job placement program will be implemented to assist graduates in finding employment in the field. Additionally, a postgraduate program will be developed to certify forensic professionals, with a variety of remote and hybrid learning choices for better flexibility.

The new school will eventually provide students the option to specialize in one of three career paths. These have not yet been defined, but they may include forensic auditing, public security and criminal policy, and human identification. In order to create a multidisciplinary approach to forensic investigations, the ENaCiF will also promote collaboration with social, legal, scientific, and political entities across the nation.

The federal government acknowledged a "forensic crisis" in Mexico a year ago, with an estimated 52,000 unidentified bodies in common graves and morgues and more than 95,000 individuals missing.

According to a Fundar report, the forensic issue in Mexico is mostly due to a lack of budget transparency and funding for forensic activities, notably at the state level. The shortage of trained employees was also brought to light, a problem that the UNAM's new education program would attempt to solve.