Main points

• Ecuador’s education system operates on the frontline of a security crisis. Organised crime, enabled by corruption across state institutions, has pushed violence into schools and disrupted learning, especially in coastal districts.
• Corruption and organised crime are mutually reinforcing. Criminal networks exploit weak oversight and politicised appointments to capture education institutions, from procurement fraud to the sale of teaching posts.
• Schools have become targets for extortion and recruitment. Teachers face threats and are coerced into paying protection money, while limited opportunities push youth toward criminal networks.
• A culture of fear suppresses reporting and accountability. Informants risk retaliation, and complicit officials leak emergency calls to criminal organisations.
• Anti-corruption interventions must address both institutional capture and school-level vulnerabilities through strengthened oversight, protected reporting mechanisms, and community-based security approaches.