Minister of Education says there are no conditions for the return of students to classrooms in Ecuador

The Minister of Education, María Brown, indicated that there are not yet the conditions to determine a date of general return to classes.

At the moment, 1,301 schools have been authorized to voluntarily return to classrooms, while the rest continue to use web platforms.

She commented that these educational units were part of a group of more than 5,000 that requested permission and clarified that the plans were approved by the previous administration.

She said that more than 15,000 institutions submitted the return-to-class plan, while only 5,000 requested this return, but only 1,301 schools were approved to return to the classroom. Additionally, Brown noted that she approved 26 lagging plans.

Brown stressed that there are no conditions to determine a general return to school date.

“We will surely have a higher percentage of the population vaccinated by September, but that does not mean that the pandemic is over. We cannot make a decision at this time because we do not have a clear enough projection, “she said.

She explained that 225,000 children would be at risk of dropping out of school, according to a study by the Ministry of Education, while Unicef ​​has figures that 90,000 children have dropped out of school.

Regarding this situation, the minister said that this is not calculated with the enrollment, but based on the number of students who delivered the portfolio to their teachers.

Regarding the UNICEF figures, Brown mentioned that the survey of more than 5000 students, with the endorsement of the Ministry of Education, asked if students are attending classes and if they are learning.

About the census, she stated that it is planned to take place in the first 100 days of the Government and so far there has been progress in piloting.

In relation to the Reform to the Education Law, which is on hold due to a legal claim, she expressed that they prefer to wait for the resolution of the Constitutional Court, and then clearly know how to act. But she asserted that she agrees that the rank of teachers must be reviewed.