Editing Ecuador (section)

===Education===
{{main|Education in Ecuador}}
[[File:2022-05-20 Universidad de las Artes Guayaquil 01.jpg|thumb|University of the Arts in [[Guayaquil]]]]

The Ecuadorian Constitution requires that all children attend school until they achieve a "basic level of education", which is estimated at nine school years.<ref name=ilab>{{cite web|title=Ecuador|url=http://www.dol.gov/ilab/media/reports/iclp/tda2001/ecuador.htm|work=The Department of Labor's 2001 Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor|publisher=[[Bureau of International Labor Affairs]], U.S. Department of Labor |year=2002|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100503214040/http://www.dol.gov/ILAB/media/reports/iclp/tda2001/ecuador.htm|archive-date=3 May 2010}}</ref> In 1996, the net primary enrollment rate was 96.9%, and 71.8% of children stayed in school until the fifth grade/age 10.<ref name=ilab/> The cost of primary and secondary education is borne by the government, but families often face significant additional expenses such as fees and transportation costs.<ref name=ilab/>

Provision of public schools falls far below the levels needed, and class sizes are often very large, and families of limited means often find it necessary to pay for education.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The debate over private and public provisions of education {{!}} Capacity4dev|url=https://europa.eu/capacity4dev/articles/debate-over-private-and-public-provisions-education|access-date=23 September 2020|website=europa.eu|archive-date=15 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201215141622/https://europa.eu/capacity4dev/articles/debate-over-private-and-public-provisions-education|url-status=live}}</ref> In rural areas, only 10% of the children go on to high school.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Ricardo|first=Gomez|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bJkjMBI7BKYC&q=ecuador+In+rural+areas%2C+only+10%25+of+the+children+go+on+to+high+school.%5B&pg=PA202|title=Libraries, Telecentres, Cybercafes and Public Access to ICT: International Comparisons: International Comparisons|date=31 July 2011|publisher=IGI Global|isbn=978-1-60960-772-2|language=en|access-date=31 October 2020|archive-date=29 November 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231129021941/https://books.google.com/books?id=bJkjMBI7BKYC&q=ecuador+In+rural+areas%2C+only+10%25+of+the+children+go+on+to+high+school.%5B&pg=PA202#v=snippet&q=ecuador%20In%20rural%20areas%2C%20only%2010%25%20of%20the%20children%20go%20on%20to%20high%20school.%5B&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref> In a 2015 report, The Ministry of Education states that in 2014 the mean number of school years completed in rural areas is 7.39 as compared to 10.86 in urban areas.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Ministerio de Educación del Ecuador |title=Estadística Educativa, Reporte de indicadores |date=March 2015 |volume=1 |issue=1 |url=https://educacion.gob.ec/wp-content/uploads/downloads/2017/06/PUB_EstadisticaEducativaVol1_mar2015.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200720135411/https://educacion.gob.ec/wp-content/uploads/downloads/2017/06/PUB_EstadisticaEducativaVol1_mar2015.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=20 July 2020 |access-date=23 October 2021 }}</ref>