The Coalition for Education with Dignity (CED) says the government has violated several aspects of the National Education Pact. The Coalition was critical of the government for focusing the funds on building schools as well as pointing out quality issues. The Medina administration is investing more than double in pre-university education compared to previous governments.
During the Corripio Media Group luncheon meeting on Wednesday 4 March 2015, the CED’s Maria Teresa Cabrera and lawyers Georges Santoni and Mario Berges expressed their disappointment at the fact that the harmonized agreements were not being respected. They said that while teachers are being hired after applying for jobs, this has not been the case for the state school system district and regional directors.
The Coalition was instrumental in pressuring the government to allocate more resources to education. Following the acceptance to do so by the Medina administration, the coalition has monitored the use of the funds.
In an online report, the Coalition says that the sheer numbering of public schools inaugurated in 2014 does not reflect the deficiencies. Among these is that the new schools do not meet accessibility requirements for people with special needs. They claim that students are not receiving afternoon instruction during the extended school day at the new schools.
The Coalition representatives also pointed out that the same quality problems such as too many students per classroom have been carried over in many extended schools.
They add that many libraries do not have books, the dining halls are too small for the number of students, and the afternoon curriculum has yet to start.
In its monitoring report, the CED attributed the failure to provide good afternoon classes to a teacher shortage. So far, the same instructors have been covering these additional hours.
The Coalition was also critical of the fact that while teachers need to compete openly for their jobs, the Ministry has handpicked the educational district and regional directors and deputy directors.
The Coalition also criticized the lack of evaluation of the 10-Year Education Plan.
In response, yesterday, Thursday 5 March 2015, Education Minister Carlos Amarante invited the Coalition to a meeting at the Ministry to learn more about the plans that are underway and in the pipeline.
Coalición por una Educación Digna cita violaciones al Pacto Educativo
http://educaciondigna.com
http://www.governmentspendingwatch.org/campaigns-and-advocacy/education/33-dominican-republic-coalicion-educacion-digna-coalition-for-education-with-dignity