Full jail reform underway

[Dolores]

Latin American regional penal expert Roberto Santana says it will take the Abinader administration around three years to move inmates at old model jails to new model jails. He says there are 22 new model jails in the country, but another 18 jails still operate in the traditional jail model. These include the infamous La Victoria, Azua and El Seibo jails.

The good news is that the new government is working on this. Santana himself has been named honorary advisor to supervise the process. Santana was the creator of the new penitentiary model. His local success led him to be hired abroad to install similar systems in other Latin American countries.

In an interview last night on Esta Noche con Mariasela, Santana explained that specialized trained staff makes the difference between the two jail systems. The staff has been shown not to fail prey to corruption and thus cell...

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[CristoRey]

Sounds like this new administration is
definitely taking the bull by the horns.

 

[Caonabo]

I would like to see more education reform instead of prison reform.

 

[La Profe_1]

Without a doubt, prison reform is important. However, reform and improvement of education is critical to the future of the youth of the Dominican Republic.

Many families cannot afford private school tuition. Until education is reformed, their children face a bleak future.

I am not disparaging all public schools. Because of my work in Puerto Plata I have met and collaborated with several public school principals who are every bit as dedicated as principals in private schools. They just struggle to provide an education to their students because of things like unusable bathrooms, lack of equipment and lack of educational materials.

For example, a box of chalk made one principal very happy. He stored it in his office so that it was available for those who needed it.

I cannot think of a school in the US that would do the same, simply because availability of something as simple as chalk is a non-issue.

 

[JD Jones]

Without a doubt, prison reform is important. However, reform and improvement of education is critical to the future of the youth of the Dominican Republic.

Many families cannot afford private school tuition. Until education is reformed, their children face a bleak future.

I am not disparaging all public schools. Because of my work in Puerto Plata I have met and collaborated with several public school principals who are every bit as dedicated as principals in private schools. They just struggle to provide an education to their students because of things like unusable bathrooms, lack of equipment and lack of educational materials.

For example, a box of chalk made one principal very happy. He stored it in his office so that it was available for those who needed it.

I cannot think of a school in the US that would do the same, simply because the availability of something as simple as chalk is a non-issue.

Some of my neighbors are teachers and I am constantly amazed at their dedication and personal contributions for supplies. They shouldn't have to do that.