Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum inaugurated the new CBTIS 290 campus in Tijuana’s Colonia Natura on Saturday, June 20, bringing 12 classrooms and specialized training in artificial intelligence and robotics to the city’s underserved eastern corridor. The federal government invested 66.9 million pesos (approximately $3.3 million USD) in the project.
CBTIS stands for Centro de Bachillerato Tecnológico Industrial y de Servicios, a network of federal vocational high schools serving students roughly ages 15 to 18. The new campus is one of the few institutions in the Tijuana region offering coursework in AI, according to multiple reports from the inauguration.
Officials From Three Levels of Government Attend
Sheinbaum was joined at the ribbon-cutting by Baja California Governor Marina del Pilar Ávila Olmeda, Tijuana Mayor Ismael Burgueño Ruiz, and federal Education Secretary Mario Delgado. The governor said the campus will allow more students to attend a high school close to their homes rather than commuting hours to schools in central Tijuana or the Mesa de Otay area.
Sheinbaum said the school is part of a national program that has created 200,000 new high school seats across Mexico. Between 2025 and 2026, the federal government carried out 500 construction and expansion projects to reach that goal, she said.
Residents Complain About Ongoing School Shortage
Despite the celebration, local residents used the event to voice complaints about a broader shortage of school spaces in the area. Colonia Natura and surrounding developments on Tijuana’s eastern edge have grown rapidly in recent years. Before CBTIS 290, secondary school graduates in the zone often faced long commutes to reach the nearest high school, a factor that contributed to dropout rates.
The new campus includes a laboratory, a multi-use sports court, and a civic plaza in addition to its 12 classrooms. It operates under the new national “Bachillerato Nacional Margarita Maza” model that launched earlier this year to expand coverage.
Demand for school seats in Tijuana’s peripheral neighborhoods continues to outpace supply, according to residents who spoke at the event. The rapid population growth in newer housing developments has strained public services, and families say more campuses are needed.
Originally reported by Zeta Tijuana.