The Ministry of Education and the Corporación de Fomento Industrial, which administers 13 industrial free zone parks around the country, signed an agreement whereby the Ministry of Education will assist the CFI in setting up programs principally to educate illiterate free zone workers. The programs will be expanded to facilitate that free zone workers may achieve at least an eighth grade level. The National Office of Statistics (ONE) recently told the nation that there are 1,307,421 illiterate persons in the Dominican Republic, or 21% of the population. The 1993 census showed that 640,989 men and 676,108 women do not know how to read or write. Of these 531,038 live in urban areas and 776,323 in rural zones. The free zone industries administered by CFI commit to set up a classroom and hire a professor to teach workers 10 hours a week for a nine month period. The program begins with the Paliza free zone in San Pedro de Macorís park where 32 workers will be taught to read and write. The program seeks to gradually integrate the 13 free zones that operate under the supervision of the CFI. The Ministry of Education and the CFI invite private free zones to participate in the initiative.
