So many games being played with that... So much manipulation going on. I'm pretty sure it's a ruse de guerre by Noboa, putting in a cold turkey quit, then negotiating facing the protest, and ending up where he wanted to. He and his predecessors have stripped education enough to be able to pull that off and have the population think they've won.
Heh, a similar thing happened in Australia. If you recall my ancient (in Internet terms) post Art is a Threat, a point that I did not raise there, but probably could've squeezed its way in - several years ago, an Australian government that was facing mounting pressure from good, quality journalism announced that they would subsidise less of that degree for Australian students.
Oh no, our society is getting too educated and calling us out for our flaws! Let's ruin the education system and the whole country!