Dominican universities are not in optimal shape to feature in an international level ranking, because they lack teachers with doctorates, masters and specialties, infrastructure, laboratories, education technology and computers, as well as modern university management.
Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology (Mescyt) Ligia Amada Melo, said that the low subsidies the universities receive from the government and lack of investment by the private sector are what keep them from offering an excellent education.
Nonetheless, she said that the institutions are making efforts to improve the qualitative aspects and give society quality graduates.
As a way of improving the quality of the higher education graduates, the authorities have introduced several measures, including five-year evaluations starting in 2005 with 35 universities with the addition of ten more in 2010.
The results show that some universities are in good shape, some have medium conditions and others are very poor. Five of those found to have the poorest conditions, were closed, of which four subsequently managed to improve and were reopened, although with a reduced list of degree courses.
The biggest deficiencies are the low number of teachers with post-graduate degrees, other dedicated full-time or part-time to classes, weaknesses in infrastructure, especially in laboratories, limited access for students to educational technology, low investment in education and a saturation of the courses offered.