Ecuadorian Education Minister clarifies rules on optional Saturday work for teachers

Ecuador's Minister of Education, Gilda Alcívar, has addressed concerns surrounding optional Saturday activities for teachers, clarifying the scope of Ministerial Agreement 0045. The agreement, set to take effect for the 2026-2027 academic year, allows fiscal educational institutions to incorporate supplementary activities on Saturdays. Alcívar emphasized that these activities are voluntary, not mandatory, for schools. Institutions can choose to hold none, or up to five such events throughout the year. These optional sessions are intended to accommodate activities like science fairs and family integration days, which some schools already conduct outside regular hours. Alcívar assured that schools can maintain their existing Monday-to-Friday schedules if they prefer. The agreement applies to fiscal institutions in the Costa-Galápagos and Sierra-Amazonía regions. For teachers and administrative staff who do participate in these Saturday activities, the Ministry has established a system of compensatory time off. This measure aims to balance the supplementary work with the standard workload, ensuring that educators are compensated for their additional time. The Union of National Educators (UNE) had previously raised questions about the potential impact on teachers' working hours, but the Ministry's clarification aims to alleviate these concerns by stressing the voluntary nature and compensatory provisions.

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I will be super clear. They are not mandatory, they are voluntary.