Financing for equity in pre-primary education
1. Education resources to subnational governments
2. Education resources to institutions
3. Education resources to students and families
4. Social policies and family support programmes
Introduction
Key financing indicators (UIS Data)
In 2024, the official entrance age to pre-primary education was 3 years old. In 2024, the number of years of free pre-primary education granted in legal frameworks and the number of years of compulsory pre-primary education granted in legal frameworks were 3. For 2023, the net enrolment rate for pre-primary for both sexeswas 69,20%.
Governance
MINEDUC is the main governing body responsible for early childhood education and receives direct budgetary allocations from the General Government.
Tuition-free status
Pre-primary education is tuition-free, according to laws and policies.
1. Education resources to subnational governments
In Ecuador, two processes of delegating powers occur simultaneously: decentralisation, which transfers responsibilities and resources from the central government to provincial, municipal, and parish governments (Decentralised Autonomous Governments, GAD); and deconcentration, which shifts services from a national entity (ministry) to its zonal, provincial, district, or circuit agencies. The national entity maintains control over service quality and performance.
The Ministry of Education operates under the deconcentration model. The districts are in charge of the operation of schools, including the management and financing of school personnel and the provision of educational resources. Additionally, there is an intermediate level between the central government and the districts called “zonas” that are responsible for the coordination of the school districts and for providing them with technical support.
Public schools’ funding is mainly based on each school’s needs and/or on historical expenditures, from the central level to the district-level offices of the Ministry of Education. Although there is no specific formula in place, the model keeps a progressive distribution logic, benefiting regions with populations of lower socioeconomic status.
The National Government, through the National Secretariat for Planning and Development (SENPLADES), promotes the process of deconcentration, guaranteeing territorial equity through micro-planning, where districts gather the needs of the territory through each of their circuits, planning from the bottom up and then from the top down.
Central government transfers remain, however, discretionary and tend to benefit regions at the lower end of the socioeconomic status (SES) distribution, with the exception that education spending in quintile 5 of SES is higher than in quintile 4. The allocation of funding in Ecuador is influenced by the focus on investments in disadvantaged rural regions.
2. Education resources to institutions
The final level of the deconcentration mechanism is the intercultural and/or bilingual educational circuit, comprising public, private, and fiscomisional institutions within a defined territory, based on population, geography, ethnicity, language, culture, environment, and special district criteria.
Specialised and Inclusive Education ensures access, permanence, participation, and academic achievement for students aged 0 to 19 with special educational needs (SEN), including those with disabilities or conditions requiring specialised support, particularly among the first quintiles of poverty. They are governed by the Regulations regarding the care of students with special educational needs (2013) and operate through Specialised Educational Institutions (SEIs), regular schools, and Inclusion Support Units (UDAIs). The model integrates students into regular schools whenever possible, providing additional services and resources when full inclusion is not feasible. Regular schools must adopt measures to admit students with SEN, and the possibility of inclusion is assessed by UDAIs in public institutions or private psycho-pedagogical centres for private schools. SEIs are specialised by type of disability and serve only one category of students.
3. Education resources to students and families
The Ecuadorian Ministry of Education, via the Undersecretary of Specialised and Inclusive Education and the National Directorate of Early Childhood and Basic Education, implemented the Early Childhood Family Care Service (SAFPI) to promote the development of 3- and 4-year-olds. This service targets children not enrolled in early childhood education programs and focuses on preparing families and connecting them with the community through learning experiences based on the Early Childhood Education Curriculum. The following objectives have been established: guarantee the right to education for 3- and 4-year-olds through a flexible, assisted model; promote comprehensive development considering the sociocultural context; and strengthen family responsibility in children's education through participation in educational activities.
4. Social policies and family support programmes
The Bono de Desarrollo Humano (BDH), a sub-programme of the Ministry of Social and Economic Inclusion, was launched in 1998 under the name Bono Solidario (Solidarity Voucher). Its primary aim is to provide immediate poverty alleviation through cash transfers that increase household consumption capacity, while also promoting long-term human capital development to prevent the intergenerational transmission of poverty.
To improve the standard of living for families with minor children, a variable component was introduced, calculated based on the number of children in families receiving the BDH who are classified as living in extreme poverty according to the 2013 Social Register index (up to 18 points). The programme strengthens family capacities while promoting co-responsibility through a family accompaniment mechanism and conditional compliance of corresponsibility system for children aged 0 to 18. Preference is given to the female head of household, spouse, or primary decision-maker in the household.
