Achievements and Challenges of Ecuador’s Education Sector in the 21st Century

Abstract

This paper provides an overview of the achievements and challenges of Ecuador's education sector since year 2000. Ecuador has introduced significant reforms and has made important investments in the education sector, which have gone hand in hand with improvements in education access and quality. Nevertheless, Ecuador’s education system still has challenges to address. Learning gaps between regions and ethnic groups continue to be substantial, education quality displays important deficiencies, and investments in higher education have not yet contributed to improve labor productivity. The system needs to assure that education policies and programs are adequately monitored, evaluated, and aligned with education quality and learning. Sustaining some of the policy choices implemented in recent years will put substantial pressure to the country’s budget in the medium term due to the country’s new fiscal situation. In such context, the Government will need to promote more efficient and equitable expenditures on education and prioritize investments on policies that are proven to be most effective.