Alexis Algarrobo, head of the Ministry of Education’s English Division, stated that a 70% deficiency in English teachers is crippling government plans to convert more public schools into bilingual institutions. As a result, the Ministry is taking unprecedented measures to plug the deficiency of English teachers in public schools. For the first time ever it has signed an agreement with the Instituto Cultural Dominico-Americano (ICDA) to re-train 300 licensed teachers as English teachers. ICDA is an educational, cultural and counseling organization, with centers in SD and Santiago, jointly sponsored by the U.S. and DR governments. Other measures being contemplated include; overseas recruitment of English-speaking teachers, a campaign to encourage English-speaking Dominicans living in the U.S. to "come home" to teach, and negotiations with U.S. universities to send senior students as "teaching interns." Just three of the nation’s universities offer English teaching preparative degree programs, while English is a required subject in Dominican public schools.
