The Ministry of Education (Minerd) has stressed that the “Dominican School Desk Design Prize” selection process was transparent and praised the highly professional work done by the jury, which was made up of experts and representatives of many universities and highly regarded local institutions. The Ministry said that the next step is to review the winning model with the aim of establishing the necessary adaptations and modifications and replacement of parts to be used in its manufacture, so that it may be produced by national industries as established in the competition rules. The Ministry said that the jury decided that the winning proposal, presented by architect Luis Alejandro Perez Sanchez, stood out for its originality in design, functional versatility, structural simplicity, an adequate relationship between quality and price, and the manufacturing potential using diverse materials and local technology.
However, the Society of Metal-mechanic and Metallurgic Enterprises of the Dominican Republic and the Dominican Association of Small School Furniture Manufacturers rejected the winning desk on the grounds of manufacturing difficulties. They pointed out that the winning desk uses tubing with 11 bends, so its manufacture would require sophisticated automation that does not exist in this country. In articles in Listin Diario and El Caribe, small manufacturers noted that the technological and physical requirements for the manufacture of the desk were beyond the capacities of small or medium-scale companies.