1. COUNTRY PAPER
ECUADOR
A brief on education
Prepared by:
Ana María Nuñez
February 2011

2. Introduction
The following paper presents a general perspective regarding relevant issues on
education in Ecuador. Through the following pages, the reader will be aware of
general information on Ecuador, developments in education, and some of the
challenges & reforms that have been built upon them.
Demographic, Economic and Socio-Cultural Situations
a. General Information:
The republic of Ecuador is located in South America, limits to the north with
Colombia, south and east to Peru and west to the Pacific Ocean. Its land area is of
276,840 sq km, and a total area of 283,560 sq km. For a better understanding of its
position in the world, the maps above shows –in the lest- its location in South
America and –in the right- the provincial division of the country.
Major Physical Features.-
Ecuador has 4 regions, divided in 24 provinces on the Coast region, the highlands
(Sierra), the Amazon basin and the Galapagos.
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3. Ecuador has a total of 966 km (2006) of railways, of them 8,164 km are paved
highways and 35,033 km (2002) unpaved. There are 1,500 km of waterways (most
inaccessible). Ports and harbors are located in Esmeraldas, Guayaquil, La Libertad,
Manta, Puerto Bolivar. There are 406 airports.
b. Demographic Situation
According to the national institute of statistics, Ecuador has a population of
14.204.900 for 2010 at an annual growth rate of 1,44%. Table 1 shows Ecuador’s
annual growth rate from 2002 to 2009.
Table 1.-
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
POPULAT. 12 479 924 12 660 728 12 842 578 13 026 891 13 215 089 13 408 270 13 605 485 13 805 095 14 005 449
G. Rate
%
- 1.45 1.44 1.44 1.44 1.46 1.47 1.47 1.45
Source: INEC (National institute of statistics) Jan 2011.
Chart 1.-
Source: http://news.mongabay.com/2006/0414-who.html
Chart 1 presents the world’s population growth rates divided by region.
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4. Urban areas in Ecuador are provided with basic services, such as water, electric
energy and sanitary services. Approximately, 60% of the population is concentrated
on these areas. The remaining 40% is distributed in rural areas, where some services
and medical attention do not exist.
Table 2 shows the distribution of Urban and Rural Population in Ecuador.
Table 2.
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
URBAN RURAL URBAN RURAL URBAN RURAL URBAN RURAL AREA AREA
Area area Area Area Area area Area Area URBANA RURAL
64,00% 36,00% 64,58% 35,42% 65,00% 35,00% 65,70% 34,30% 66,00% 34,00%
8.580.090 4.828.180 8.785.745 4.819.740 8.993.796 4.811.299 9.202.590 4.802.859 9.410.481 4.794.419
13.408.270,00 13.605.485,00 13.805.095,00 14.005.449,00 14.204.900,00
As the table shows, it can be observed that the population has been migrating to
urban areas at a slow increase of 2% in the last 4 years. The reason for this migration
is to be able to access to better quality of lives in large cities.
Population density according to the word bank is of 48,7 per square km.
c. Economic Situation:
Regarding the Atlas method1, Ecuador is classified as a lower middle-income country
as its GNI is of $3970. Table 3 shows the evolution of the GDP since 2005.
Table 3.-
Source: INEC (National institute of statistics) Jan 2011.
As the table shows, GDP has grown 15% since 2005, by calculating (2009-
2005)/2005. However, the average rate of growth is 2,85% since 2005.
1
Low income $995 or less, lower middle income $996 - $3945; upper middle income $3946-
$12,915; high income $ 12,916 or more.
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5. Components of GDP
Primary Sector
The primary sector is composed of those activities of direct
extraction from nature with no transformation. It is
primarily composed of agricultural products such as bananas,
coffee, cocoa, rice, potatoes, manioc (tapioca), plantains, sugarcane; cattle, sheep,
pigs, beef, pork, dairy products; balsa wood; fish, shrimp; and mining exploitation
which includes petroleum and natural gas extraction.
On 2006, according to the central bank of Ecuador agriculture accounted for 8% of
the GDP, and the primary sector accounts for 22% of the total GDP.
Table 4 shows the evolution of the primary sector since 2002 to 2006.
Table 4.-
Secondary Sector
Represents the activities of both: handcrafted goods and manufacturing industries.
Table 5.-
Table 5 excludes petroleum refining.
On 2006, according to the Central Bank of Ecuador the secondary sector accounted
for 10% of the GDP. (Excluding oil refining).
Tertiary Sector
Represents services accounts for 68% of GDP.
Other relevant economic data.-
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6. The annual Inflation Rate is 4,3% (2010).
Unemployment Rate 7% of total labour force (2008 World bank)
Local currency: USD Dollars.
d. Socio-Cultural Situation
- Illiteracy Rate 8%
Male: 92% over 15 years (2008)
Female: 91% over 15 years (2008)
Total 92%
- Infant Mortality Rate Per 1000 live births
20 per 1,000 live births (2010)
- Life expectancy at birth: 75 years (2008)
- Number of official languages: Two
- Name of official language: Spanish & quechua
- Names of principal religions: Roman Catholic 95%, others 5%.
STRUCTURE OF THE EDU CATION SYSTEM
e. Educational Situation
National educative system in Ecuador comprises two sub-systems: Scholar and non-
scholar. Scholar education comprises regular education, compensatory education (for
those who have not finished education or have not accessed on a regular basis) and
special education. Non-scholar sub-system strives for improving cultural and
professional education through private and public efforts.
Ecuadorian regular education has the following levels: Preprimary, Primary and
Secondary level comprising basic, and specialized. Primary education and basic
secondary level is compulsory and comprises 10 years: first to seventh grades of
primary education, and 3 years of secondary education.
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7. Education structure from preprimary to secondary education
1st pre primary education not compulsory
1st to sixth grade: Compulsory education primary –BGE-
7th to 10th grade: Compulsory education (secondary)
11th to 12th: not compulsory (diversified/technical education)
After finishing the secondary education, the student has to submit examinations that
will guarantee he/she has achieved the level required by the ministry of education for
the required education level.
At the school and high school levels, the ministry of education is a key component
for the development of education nationwide; it has executed several actions to
support improvements in education whose objectives are aligned to the national
development plan.
An example can be the “escuelas unidocentes” (One teacher school), which intend to
improve quality of the education supply in rural areas. Nationwide, there are other
programs developed by diverse ministries, oriented to environmental preservation,
sexual education, and health concerns. Developments have also been achieved in
pedagogy as an example; study cases are applied to promote critical thinking from
students where the student becomes part of the process of learning.
To improve quality in the tertiary level a national committee of accreditation has been
designed. This committee ensures universities comply for legal requirements and
curriculum development. Up to date only few universities have been accredited.
After the approval of the superior education law on 2010, in 2 years, 60% of all
university teachers must be enrolled and have a master’s degree. The law also
contemplates an examination of students upon they finish their studies. If students
score low grades on this examination, the degree will be closed for poor quality
results.
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8. 1. Coverage of School Age Population.-
Level Total School Age Gross Enrolment Percentage in
Enrolment Population Rate % (2009) Private Schools
Pre-Primary 290,000 3 to 5 131 27%
Primary 1,717,000 6 to 11 117 18%
High/Secondary 1,633,000 12 to 17 81 12%
Tertiary - 18 and 42 35%
above
Source: UNESCO’s Institute of Statistics. Elaborated by: The author.
2. Rate of Growth of Enrolment During Past Five Years Period
Level of Education Average Annual Rate of Growth
(2005 – 2009)
Pre-Primary 7,18%
Primary 1,03%
High/Secondary 24,18%
Tertiary2 20%
Source: UNESCO’s Institute of Statistics. Elaborated by: The author.
3. Teacher Deployment Situation
Level of Education Number of % Qualified Pupil/ Teacher
Teachers (2009) Teachers Ratio (2009)
Pre-Primary 20,011 78 19
Primary 120,064 83 17
High/Secondary 47,357 78 22
Tertiary 8,4703 80 27
2
Available from 2007 to 2008
3
2008 reference.
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9. Source: UNESCO’s Institute of Statistics. Elaborated by: The author.
DINAMEP (National council of professional improvement) is the national institution
in charge of teacher training at a national level; its main objective is to improve
education and services of education in provinces of the country.
4. Internal Efficiency in Primary Education (Current Two Year Period)
Grades
Rate Year 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
2008-
- - - - - - - - -
2009
Promotion 2009-
- - - - - - - - -
2010
2008- 5 3 2 2
1 1 - - -
2009
2009- 5 10 10 5
Repetition 2010
3 1 - - -
Rate
2008-
- - - - - - - - -
2009
2009-
Dropout 2010
- - - - - - - - -
Rate
100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100%
Note: Several data were not available.
Source: UNESCO Statistics
5. Financing of Education
In 2006, 73 million dollars where invested in school infrastructure.
Source: 10 year education plan 2007.
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10. 1. Total Public expenditure on education as a percentage of government expenditure
is 8 % (2000).
2. Total Public expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP/GNP is 3,9 %
(2009-2010). The intention is to achieve an annual increase of 0,5% in education’s
portion of the GDP until it reaches at least 6% for 2012.
Level of Education Current Public Expenditure
Primary (2000) 3,2
High/Secondary (2000) 6
Tertiary ----
Others ----
The total amount of infrastructure investment for the year 2006 on students was of
270 USD. Total investment in infrastructure accounted for 73 million.
7. Current Expenditure Per Pupil as a Percentage of GDP or GNP
(2009– 2010)
Level of Education Expenditure Per Pupil
Primary
High/Secondary
Tertiary
Others
a) Curriculum development
Schools and high school education.-
The National Plan for Environmental Education: Co-preparation with the Ministry of
Environment the National Plan for Environmental Education for Basic and High
School education. This program motivates persons to find solutions to
environmental problems and motivates individuals to defend natural resources and
manage waste.
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11. National Welfare Plan: This is a program where teachers, students, parents’
community members, and authorities are integrated in a positive creative system. It
aims to orient the society people against the prevention of improper use of drugs.
Institutionalization of sex education: This was a perceived need at all levels of
education: pregnancy is a reason for the high levels of dropouts from girls. Also, it
aims to eradicate sex crimes, and reduce and treat sexually transmitted diseases.
Through Ministerial Accord 403 sex education was institutionalized in the education
system.
School for parents: This program aims to improve communication amongst the
members of the family, strengthen the values of the family, improve self esteem,
prevention of violence and support children in the process of learning.
International Baccalaureate Organization: Ecuador’s public education is joining the
international education panorama included signing the Memorandum of Mutual
Commitments between Ecuador and the International Baccalaureate Organization
(“OBI”). The 22 schools chosen are in the first training phase for implementing the
program.
b) Text book production/ distribution
Providing free text books from 1st to 7th grades of Basic general education.
The ministry of education provided free textbooks for children registered in Spanish
and bilingual public schools in the Coast, Highlands and Amazon Basin Region
systems. In average, the Ministry of education contributed with 80% of the cost of
the books. The remaining 20% was contributed by sectional governments.
c) Special programmes for the Disadvantaged and poor.
According to the WTO, there are 161 million persons with disabilities from which 37
million are blind and 124 million persons are partially blind. At least 6 million of
them are scholar age children and 80% of them live in developing countries. From
these children, less than 10% are receiving education. A girl with visual disability
receives less attention and is highly more discriminated than a boy.
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12. In Ecuador, 40% of the population lives in rural areas, therefore, programs have been
developed to guarantee equal access to education for this children.
National Plan for Education Inclusion:
Validation and forming inclusive policies for the disadvantaged, which allow
incorporation of all boys, girls and young people into a system with fair conditions.
Specialized training workshops for educators are given on an annual basis in topics
such as: “Response to Educational Needs of Gifted Children,” “Alternate
Communications System for Deaf and Blind Students” and “Education for the
Deaf.”
Escuelas unidocentes (one teacher schools):
This schools aim to reach a percentage of students who have difficulty in accessing
schools and provide these children -from rural areas- with mini libraries, facilities,
computers, tools for farming and also, lodging for the teacher. This program
supports the teacher with continuous technical assistance. The basic areas of studies
are: mathematics, language and communication, social studies, and natural science.
Teachers from these schools are required to meet periodically to share experiences,
establish compromises and to implement innovation in pedagogy of education.
For supporting the education in rural areas, the national council of rural education is
also implementing 2 projects: one, oriented to social and productive development and
the second, to the communitarian curriculum for general basic education.
d) Efforts for education for all programmes
In order to achieve the goals of making basic education universal, the following
complementary strategies have developed:4
a. Incentives for voluntary retirement for teachers and termination of night school
teachers.
4
Ten year education plan, 2007.
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13. b. Breaking down items and allotments to teachers in rural, border and marginal
areas.
c. Incorporation of new teachers, ensuring their quality through a registry of eligible
candidates. Persons who wish to enter the teaching profession as teachers must
register and pass aptitude tests prior to the process handled by the commissions on
entries and changes.
In reference to these three, there has been a re-evaluation of the teaching
profession, professional development, working conditions and quality of life.
For the voluntarily retirement of senior teachers, the government offered and
paid five basic monthly wages to $12,000 through Executive Decree 1563 on
June 29, 2006. Through this decree, persons who wish to enter the teaching
profession as teachers must register and pass aptitude tests prior to the process
handled by the commissions on entries and changes.
d. Elimination of barriers to entry into the education system through a free text book
campaign and the elimination of the $25 payment.
The contribution from families to schools of USD 25 has been eliminated by
the government for the purpose of eliminating barriers to public education and
advance towards free public school education. This contribution was
eliminated from 1st to 7th grades.
e. Making the first year of Basic General Education (“BGE”) universal.
As a result of the program, in 2006 the increase in public school registrations
in 2006 was 28.9% in the Coast system. National gross enrolment on basic
education is 117% for 2009.
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14. e) Inspection and Supervision services for Quality improvement
Supervision is in charge of the provincial council of education, who manages the
work of provincial supervisors. Supervision is a task of professional assessment and
control over the assigned educational institutions, and will always take into account
the opinions of the communities. To be a supervisor, it is fundamental to have
specialized training, and live in the working area assigned.
To ensure quality a national evaluation system has been implemented, and social
reporting of the education system.
f) Examination systems
The intention is to perform a national testing system that includes measurement of
academic achievements, testing institutional work and teaching performance.
Issues and problems of education
Some of the most relevant problems in education are the following:
a. Access to education in rural areas.
b. Extreme poverty
c. High girls dropout in schools
d. Lack of access to schools
e. Corruption in education
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15. Educational reforms.-
In October 2010, the new law on higher education was approved with some
educational reforms such as:
Number of credits per degree.-
There will be a number of credits per degree that students must comply with in order
to graduate.
Full time professors.-
Full time teachers in tertiary education must posses master degrees in order to be
promoted as full time teachers. The law establishes a classification of professors who
need to comply with specific demands.
Testing Systems.-
The law proposes to develop a test according to every program in each university. In
a period of 5 years the students will start taking this tests and if overall they don’t
score above the required grade for a period f two years, the program/degree will be
closed.
Elimination of diplomas as postgraduate degrees.-
The actual tertiary education law eliminates diplomas as postgraduate degrees and
only recognizes masters and PhD’s, graduate programs.
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16. Bibliography:
1. Observatorio de la Economía Latinoamericana-
http://www.eumed.net/cursecon/ecolat/ec/2006/gvd.htm
2. INEC- www.inec.gov.ec
3. UNESCO - http://www.unesco.org/new/en/unesc
4. Ten Year education plan. 2007. Ministry of Education of Ecuador
5. Ley orgánica de educación superior LOES.
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