Ecuador Education fact sheet 2011
Fact sheet 2011 EDUCATION
Ecuador
Country profile: Ecuador hosts the largest number of refugees in Latin America,and their numbers are still increasing. The vast majority of them (98 %) are Colombians, who have fled their country over the past decade. In 2010, the government and UNHCR ran an Enhanced Registration process, through which 28,000 refugees had been recognized by mid-2010. This represented a major development in the protection of refugees in the region, and helped to identify specific protection concerns among refugees in Ecuador. In 2008, Ecuador had adopted a comprehensive refugee policy. The Presidential Decree on this issue incorporates the provisions of the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, its 1967 Protocol and the enlarged refugee definition under the Cartagena Declaration. This framework fosters a positive protection environment and the development of public policies to address refugee needs in Ecuador. For the future, the main challenges will be to enhance the asylum system, identify and address the specific protection needs of refugees and promote durable solutions. The Governments of Colombia and Ecuador have agreed to restore relations and are normalizing diplomatic ties. Both governments have reiterated their interest in establishing a coordination mechanism to address -- together with UNHCR -- the situation of Colombian refugees in Ecuador. Overall education needs budget 2012: USD 1.2 million
Total people of concern: 171.136 refugees and asylum seekers Origin of refugees: Colombia, Cuba, Peru Implementing partners: COOPI, Fundacion Ambiente y Sociedad (FAS), Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS) and local federations/sports organisations
56%
UNHCR approved budget 44%
Situation of refugee education in the urban areas UNHCR offers protection and fosters local integration as a durable solution for refugees living in urban areas of the country, i.e. roughly 60% of the overall refugee population. Despite the belief that there is greater access to goods and services in urban centres, the refugee population lives in marginal zones where they often do not have any electricity, sewerage or organized waste removal. Survival depends exclusively on earning income, which is limited due to the rates of unemployment and subemployment in the cities. What is more, discrimination in some areas results in this population being marginalized, excluded and given unequal treatment, hindering their socio-cultural integration, access to rights and services, and the possibility of their becoming self-sufficient. These limitations engender the risk of abuse, gender-based violence, sex work, smuggling and human trafficking. An estimated 42% of school-going age children remain out of school!
450 27
26
25 21
20 20
16 15 10 10
418
400
Number of students
Number of students
30
Female Male
11
7
5
350 300
266
250
Female
200
Male
150
106 92
100 50
0
0
0
0
0
0 2007
2008
2009
2007
2010
1
2008
2009
2010
Data from 2007 and 2009 are not available
Enrolment in training, by year and gender
Enrolment in tertiary eductation, by year and gender
Situation of refugee education in the provinces Imbabura and Carchi
UNHCR’s offices in Ibarra and Tulcán, located in the provinces of Imbabura and Carchi respectively, are near the ColombianEcuadorian border, which is one of the areas most affected by the armed conflict in Colombia. UNHCR’s work in these provinces focuses on attending refugees and asylum-seekers and implementing projects conducive to the integration of the refugee population in the recipient communities. Technical and financial support for the Ecuadorian State has helped to improve and decentralize protection systems. Rumichaca International Bridge, joining Ecuador and Colombia, which is constantly used as an entry point for Colombians fleeing from the violence of the internal conflict in their country, is in the province of Carchi. Objectives Upgrading basic infrastructure and donation of educational material to 17 primary schools of the Bilingual Intercultural Authority of the Awá indigenous nationality and 7 schools of the Hispanic Education Authority, attended by over 1,200 children Donation of educational material and furniture for the state secondary schools of Yahuarcocha and Atahualpa in Alpachaca, a marginal urban district of Ibarra with a high refugee population
• •
Sucumbios
UNHCR Sub Office Lago Agrio was opened in 2000. For the past decade, the Colombian conflict has worsened significantly making this border province the main recipient of thousands of people that fled Colombia seeking protection. As of today, after Pichincha (Quito), Sucumbios province hosts the biggest refugee population in the country.
• •
Achievements 300 children benefited from the opening of 12 schools in cooperation with the Educational Provincial Directorate 80 children and their families benefited from the child care centre in Puerto Nuevo
• •
Objectives Construct a youth house Construct sport facilities in Lago Agrio in cooperation with the municipality
Esmeraldas
UNHCR’s office in Esmeraldas, a northern province of Ecuador’s Pacific coast, opened in 2008 in response to the increasing number of people in need of international protection crossing the Colombian-Ecuadorian border in the wake of the exacerbated conflict in Colombia, especially in the districts of Nariño and Cauca. UNHCR’s work revolves around providing support for refugees and asylum-seekers through projects conducive to local integration, creating protection networks, and bolstering public institutions to assure the effective exercise of the rights of the refugee population. UNHCR also regularly monitors the border to assess the changing state of the impact of the conflict on Ecuadorian territory.
• • • •
Objectives Build an Early Learning Centre in Luis Cevallos neighbourhood and provide educational material Construct a roof for the multi-use arena in the Colegio Técnico Agropecuario secondary school in San Lorenzo Construct the Library of Esmeraldas Provide free-time activities for adolescents and young adults in the Youth House of San Lorenzo and Eloy Alfaro
Education challenges •
• • •
•
Educational authorities are often unfamiliar or unwilling to implement education rights, which lead to many difficulties that prevent/restrict access of refugees to education (e.g. demand for unnecessary documents, placement in lower levels) Lack of adequate infrastructures and means of transport to reach schools hamper access to primary education in rural areas While public schools are overcrowded in urban centres, refugees do often not afford private schools In comparison with the local population, refugees are less likely to access secondary education
• •
Scarcity of secondary schools in border zone communities exposes youth to forced recruitment by irregular armed groups In the rural areas, child care does not exist. In urban areas, childcare centres are often of poor quality and several children have been mistreated Lack of extra-curricular activities for youth • Refugees who are studying are often subject to discrimination and in many cases, physical aggression by peers and teachers
UNHCR/Ecuador
UNHCR Education Unit, Geneva 2011
2
Ecuador
Country profile: Ecuador hosts the largest number of refugees in Latin America,and their numbers are still increasing. The vast majority of them (98 %) are Colombians, who have fled their country over the past decade. In 2010, the government and UNHCR ran an Enhanced Registration process, through which 28,000 refugees had been recognized by mid-2010. This represented a major development in the protection of refugees in the region, and helped to identify specific protection concerns among refugees in Ecuador. In 2008, Ecuador had adopted a comprehensive refugee policy. The Presidential Decree on this issue incorporates the provisions of the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, its 1967 Protocol and the enlarged refugee definition under the Cartagena Declaration. This framework fosters a positive protection environment and the development of public policies to address refugee needs in Ecuador. For the future, the main challenges will be to enhance the asylum system, identify and address the specific protection needs of refugees and promote durable solutions. The Governments of Colombia and Ecuador have agreed to restore relations and are normalizing diplomatic ties. Both governments have reiterated their interest in establishing a coordination mechanism to address -- together with UNHCR -- the situation of Colombian refugees in Ecuador. Overall education needs budget 2012: USD 1.2 million
Total people of concern: 171.136 refugees and asylum seekers Origin of refugees: Colombia, Cuba, Peru Implementing partners: COOPI, Fundacion Ambiente y Sociedad (FAS), Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS) and local federations/sports organisations
56%
UNHCR approved budget 44%
Situation of refugee education in the urban areas UNHCR offers protection and fosters local integration as a durable solution for refugees living in urban areas of the country, i.e. roughly 60% of the overall refugee population. Despite the belief that there is greater access to goods and services in urban centres, the refugee population lives in marginal zones where they often do not have any electricity, sewerage or organized waste removal. Survival depends exclusively on earning income, which is limited due to the rates of unemployment and subemployment in the cities. What is more, discrimination in some areas results in this population being marginalized, excluded and given unequal treatment, hindering their socio-cultural integration, access to rights and services, and the possibility of their becoming self-sufficient. These limitations engender the risk of abuse, gender-based violence, sex work, smuggling and human trafficking. An estimated 42% of school-going age children remain out of school!
450 27
26
25 21
20 20
16 15 10 10
418
400
Number of students
Number of students
30
Female Male
11
7
5
350 300
266
250
Female
200
Male
150
106 92
100 50
0
0
0
0
0
0 2007
2008
2009
2007
2010
1
2008
2009
2010
Data from 2007 and 2009 are not available
Enrolment in training, by year and gender
Enrolment in tertiary eductation, by year and gender
Situation of refugee education in the provinces Imbabura and Carchi
UNHCR’s offices in Ibarra and Tulcán, located in the provinces of Imbabura and Carchi respectively, are near the ColombianEcuadorian border, which is one of the areas most affected by the armed conflict in Colombia. UNHCR’s work in these provinces focuses on attending refugees and asylum-seekers and implementing projects conducive to the integration of the refugee population in the recipient communities. Technical and financial support for the Ecuadorian State has helped to improve and decentralize protection systems. Rumichaca International Bridge, joining Ecuador and Colombia, which is constantly used as an entry point for Colombians fleeing from the violence of the internal conflict in their country, is in the province of Carchi. Objectives Upgrading basic infrastructure and donation of educational material to 17 primary schools of the Bilingual Intercultural Authority of the Awá indigenous nationality and 7 schools of the Hispanic Education Authority, attended by over 1,200 children Donation of educational material and furniture for the state secondary schools of Yahuarcocha and Atahualpa in Alpachaca, a marginal urban district of Ibarra with a high refugee population
• •
Sucumbios
UNHCR Sub Office Lago Agrio was opened in 2000. For the past decade, the Colombian conflict has worsened significantly making this border province the main recipient of thousands of people that fled Colombia seeking protection. As of today, after Pichincha (Quito), Sucumbios province hosts the biggest refugee population in the country.
• •
Achievements 300 children benefited from the opening of 12 schools in cooperation with the Educational Provincial Directorate 80 children and their families benefited from the child care centre in Puerto Nuevo
• •
Objectives Construct a youth house Construct sport facilities in Lago Agrio in cooperation with the municipality
Esmeraldas
UNHCR’s office in Esmeraldas, a northern province of Ecuador’s Pacific coast, opened in 2008 in response to the increasing number of people in need of international protection crossing the Colombian-Ecuadorian border in the wake of the exacerbated conflict in Colombia, especially in the districts of Nariño and Cauca. UNHCR’s work revolves around providing support for refugees and asylum-seekers through projects conducive to local integration, creating protection networks, and bolstering public institutions to assure the effective exercise of the rights of the refugee population. UNHCR also regularly monitors the border to assess the changing state of the impact of the conflict on Ecuadorian territory.
• • • •
Objectives Build an Early Learning Centre in Luis Cevallos neighbourhood and provide educational material Construct a roof for the multi-use arena in the Colegio Técnico Agropecuario secondary school in San Lorenzo Construct the Library of Esmeraldas Provide free-time activities for adolescents and young adults in the Youth House of San Lorenzo and Eloy Alfaro
Education challenges •
• • •
•
Educational authorities are often unfamiliar or unwilling to implement education rights, which lead to many difficulties that prevent/restrict access of refugees to education (e.g. demand for unnecessary documents, placement in lower levels) Lack of adequate infrastructures and means of transport to reach schools hamper access to primary education in rural areas While public schools are overcrowded in urban centres, refugees do often not afford private schools In comparison with the local population, refugees are less likely to access secondary education
• •
Scarcity of secondary schools in border zone communities exposes youth to forced recruitment by irregular armed groups In the rural areas, child care does not exist. In urban areas, childcare centres are often of poor quality and several children have been mistreated Lack of extra-curricular activities for youth • Refugees who are studying are often subject to discrimination and in many cases, physical aggression by peers and teachers
UNHCR/Ecuador
UNHCR Education Unit, Geneva 2011
2
