THE STRUCTURE OF LEGAL EDUCATION IN ECUADOR, ITS PROSPECTS

Ximena Moreno de Solines**, Pontificia Universidad Catolica del Ecuador, Ecuador

 

 

 

 

 

1)         TYPES OF SCHOOLS, STUDENTS AND ADMISSIONS SYSTEMS

 

Ecuador is a country located in South America; it has a surface area of two hundred forty-six thousand three hundred seventy square kilometers (256,370 km²) and approximately twelve million inhabitants.

 

As of 1990, it had nine law schools, of which four were state and five were private.  There are currently sixteen schools and the ones that have been added [since 1990] are primarily in the private sector.

 

According to the latest research available in 1997, the population of law schools was fifteen thousand fifty-one (15,051) students with a total of seven hundred seventy-seven (777) professors; however, the distribution is not even in that 70.74% of the student population is in state schools, which are served by 54.18% of professors, whereas 29.26% are in private schools served by 45.82% of professors.

 

a)         State

 

It should be noted that, given the configuration of state universities, the rules that govern them and the high degree of politicization in which they operate with excessive student representation in the governing bodies, an authentic selection of students has been prevented from entering the schools.  Students have strongly resisted the imposition of an entry exam.  If we add to this the fact that enrollment is free, we have as a result a student body which is not at all suited for efficient training.

 

A large number of heterogeneous courses prevent the implementation of modern teaching systems and adequate methodologies.

 

The student dropout rate is high and there is not an adequate proportion between students entering and leaving, and even less so with respect to the number of students who earn their professional degree.  In any case, the important efforts of the schools which, in recent years, have been aimed toward increasing their levels of education, should [not] be left aside.

 

 

b)         Private

 

The schools belonging to private universities are characterized by greater selectivity in admissions, apart from the self-selection imposed by having to pay tuition.

 

There are several admissions tests which the different schools use for admitting their students, which range from an evaluation of general knowledge acquired through years of study in secondary school to psychological and aptitude tests.  Normally, they establish admissions quotas.

 

Furthermore, the proliferation of these universities in recent years has caused them to be concerned about the supply of academic services they are offering in order to remain competitive.

 

2)         NAME, ORGANIZATION OF SCHOOLS AND FACULTY

 

For the most part schools are called schools of jurisprudence, although currently some of them are referred to as law schools.

 

With respect to the internal organization thereof, with small variations there are three levels that handle all academic and administrative aspects, which are:

 

a)         The Dean

b)         The School Council, and

c)         The School Senate

 

a)         THE DEAN.  The dean represents the school internally and externally.  With respect to the internal aspect, he is in charge of the administrative and academic management of his unit and is the spokesman in the more complex university bodies such as the Academic Board or the Board of Deans.

 

            He proposes professors’ salaries to the appropriate bodies.

 

            The dean usually has, beyond the academic team, an administrative team which, pursuant to the complexity of the activity thereof, is comprised of school or departmental coordinators, academic directors or coordinators, administrative directors and coordinators, secretaries and auxiliary personnel.

 

b)         The School Council is usually an internal entity thereof, where students and professors are represented, and which the dean presides over.  It holds periodic meetings which hear a series of petitions submitted by members of the university community, and in general deals with the problems and running of each academic unit.

 

c)         The School Senate is a tripartite entity comprised of students, professors and administrators.  It meets once or twice a year, and pertinent reports are given by the authorities dealing with matters that are especially relevant for school life.

 

            Professors with small variations with respect to name, are divided into full, adjunct, assistant and visiting professors.

 

            Normally, the schools have a scale depending upon certain requirements for entry and promotions.

            For entry, the schools stipulate selection processes ranging from mere selection of candidates by the dean or the pertinent body to competitions for professorships or the requirement of teacher training courses, except visiting professors, who usually come from other national or foreign schools for short periods of time.  Usually, the person who names teachers is the rector of the university to which they belong, after a favorable report by the school.

 

            To be a full professor, in addition to seniority, there are schools that require greater training, the submission of work and research which are evaluated, and post-graduate courses.

 

            Very few schools evaluate teachers periodically.

 

3)         METHODS, CONTENT AND EVALUATION

 

With respect to method, many of the schools limit themselves to teaching where information is privileged.

 

There is the idea that university training of attorneys fundamentally requires knowledge of existing legal precepts.

 

One of the final objectives of legal training is based on the student’s acquiring synthetic knowledge of the principal branches of positive law; therefore, programs are organized according to bodies of law and it is very common to identify them with the subject that is taught.  Thus for example, the Civil Code is synonymous with Civil Law and it is studied in as many courses as the aforementioned body of law has volumes.

 

The high number of students per course, above all in state schools, requires that the methodology used normally be a master class, for which reason one must attend classes regularly; therefore evaluation is limited, by means of special periodic tests, to verifying adequate memorization of the information.  This evaluation, which gives precedence to cognitive aspects, prevents the development and evaluation of abilities and aptitudes.

 

In the last five years, major efforts have been undertaken in several schools which, with curriculum reforms, have substantially modified their content, methodology and evaluation; one of them is the Catholic Pontifical University of Ecuador (PUCF) which, from 1993 to the present, has introduced a new curriculum with a different and modern concept of teaching law.

 

With respect to curricula, most are rigid.  The curricula are quite dated, with modifications introduced by the pertinent authorities (dean, academic coordinator, school council); they keep the same traditional schema.  Studying is undertaken in most cases in closed years; students must take a specific number of subjects which must all be passed for the student to be promoted to the next year.  The course of study, depending on the school in question, lasts from four to six years.

 

Some schools using this system allow subjects to be carried forward to subsequent years.

 

Class hours are generally during the day, at night and sometimes mixed, keeping in mind that a large number of students in state universities are employed.  In some private universities, students must attend classes full time, at least during the first years.

 

There are modern schools with flexible curricula which work under the credit system and class hours can be selected; the course of study can be completed in a minimum of ten semesters, i.e., five years; it may, according to a student’s requirements and circumstances, last longer.

 

4)         DEGREES

 

With respect to the degrees that are granted in schools, there are two types:  academic and professional.

 

Two degrees are granted in the academic arena:  the licentiate and the doctorate, and in the professional arena the degree granted is attorney.

 

With respect to the latter, we can state that there are two different systems:  those that grant the professional degree to students after they have passed the years or levels of studies and those, with more demanding requirements, that add requirements such as comprehensive examinations, theses, etc., to grant them.

 

In any case, in any of the systems there is an important fact which is that the recognition of the degree of attorney is given by the university and it qualifies, by itself, the student to enter professional practice, for which reason old universities grant the professional and academic degree simultaneously.

 

The placement of students who achieve a professional degree varies as a function of their origin.  Thus, most who come from state universities aspire to placement in various government bodies, especially in judicial functions; a large percentage works in private and independent professional practice.  A large number of those who come from private universities work in consulting private and public companies and, with respect to professional service, they entail significant professional studies.

 

5)         CONTINUOUS AND POSTGRADUATE EDUCATION

 

Some academic units are concerned with holding continuous education courses for their graduates.  Likewise, in some of them, in an isolated manner, postgraduate courses have been implemented which, in certain cases, are held jointly with other schools of the university itself, without there being a defined policy in this regard.  There is an international university located in Ecuador which, through its law department, offers postgraduate programs systematically and permanently, given that this is the purpose of its academic activity.

 

 

6)         PROSPECTS FOR THE FUTURE

 

Conscious of the shortcomings that existing in legal education in our country, the concern about its organization was raised from within the schools themselves in order that, through a body that draws them together, a concerted change could be analyzed and made viable.  Therefore, the Ecuadorian Association of Schools of Jurisprudence was established in 1996, initially with eight schools.  Currently, almost all existing [law schools] are members.

 

The Ecuadorian Association of Schools of Jurisprudence, beyond the projects that it has undertaken and that are related to teacher training, school and curriculum management, clinics, legal consulting, etc., has made a major effort that we hope can be implemented in the near future and which takes the form of a proposal for the improvement thereof, which includes the structuring of objectives, profiles and a minimum curriculum, which all academic units can use as an aid to rationalize legal education so as to train lawyers to meet society’s needs.

 

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

 

•           ESTRELLA VINTIMILLA, PABLO, “10 basic problems, 5 possibilities for concerted change”; Summary discussion document presented in the National Seminar “Diagnosis of Teaching Law in Ecuador and Possibilities for Concerted Change,” held in Cuenca, Ecuador, on April 15 and 16, 1999.  14 pp.

 

•           WRAY, ALBERTO; “Diagnosis on status of legal teaching in Ecuador”; Quito, Ecuador.  Corporación Editora Nacional, 1999.  69 pp.