Mexico City — In an effort to help students weather the global economic crisis, the rectors of Mexico’s 128 largest public universities have pledged to reduce fees for higher education. The program, announced on Tuesday in conjunction with the Public Education Secretariat, will include scholarships for thousands more students, discounts on tuition and other fees, and special payment plans, in a bid to prevent students from dropping out or postponing their college enrollment for economic reasons.

Rodolfo Tuirán, the country’s under secretary for higher education, said the government would increase the number of federal scholarships from 234,000 to 310,000 for the next academic year, at a total expenditure of $180-million.

However, details of the larger plan have yet to be worked out. The National Association of Universities and Institutions of Higher Education, whose members include the 128 leading public universities and 24 top private institutions, pledged to reach an agreement within three months.

The rectors also urged the country’s other private universities — the most prestigious of which charge more than $13,000 a year — to follow suit. But they had yet to receive a firm commitment.

Public universities account for 87 percent of the 2.5 million students enrolled in institutions of higher education in Mexico. Of those, 600,000 live under the poverty line, Mr. Tuirán said. While tuition at the public universities is usually free or very low, lab fees and other expenses can run in the hundreds or even thousands of dollars. —Marion Lloyd