Education was very limited because it would be a problem for Spain if the locals were to rebel against the colonizers and for years they lived under their shadow.
By the year 1842, there was a public school movement in the United States, less than 1% of the Mexican population was educated and only 33% of the education was free. By the Mexican revolution, education was one of the topics being fought for by Benito Juarez. He and many others wanted to end the illiteracy.