The agency allocated $14 million to hire private security guards to supplement the National Police’s work in educational institutions in insecure areas such as the city of Durán in Guayas province.
According to the Minister of the sector, María Brown, this is one of the measures foreseen in the State portfolio due to the escalation of criminal violence in this territory and in other areas such as Guayaquil or Esmeraldas.
The official added that this is not the first time that the Ministry of Education has hired a private security service and that on this occasion more resources have been requested for this purpose.
Parents in these locations demanded that the Department of Education return to virtuality due to the increase in violent deaths there.
However, Brown rejected the request and claimed that in this canton the educational institutions were part of the “Safe School” program, which provides for police officers on the outskirts of the city and in schools, but without weapons.
However, educational institutions are not exempt from dangers and parents fear the presence of gangs in them.
Recently, the National Police warned that at least 1,326 minors between the ages of 12 and 17 in the Andean country left classrooms to join criminal gangs.
According to a police report, the youths were linked to crimes such as illegal possession of weapons, contract killers, micro-trafficking, theft from people and other crimes related to organized crime.
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