Unfair distribution of the budget among the public universities of Ecuador: Matthew effect

Abstract

In Ecuador, higher education system has experienced a great expansion both in the number of students who aspire to obtain a university degree and in public institutions of higher education (PIHE). Most of which are funded by the government, which historically has been impartially allocated the budgets benefiting PIHE traditionally considered elitist, for its student selection process. The aim of this investigation was to determine the impact of the Mateo effect on PIHE from Ecuador, within the 2014-2018 period. The methodology used a non-experimental design to describe the longitudinal and transversal trends. Data of 26 PIHE was gathered from governmental web pages and the data base Scopus. The analysis took into consideration the annual budget, effectiveness of its execution, number of students, the percentage assigned for research as well as the number of publications indexed in Scopus. Overall results evidenced: 1) the greater budgets given to elite PIHE, regardless of their smaller number of students and indexed publications, 2) the financial constraints affronted by less elite PIHE that hindered their academic growth, and 3) the urgent need for a change in the prevailing financial politic, that counteracts the principles of equity and quality education for all ecuatorians.