The World Bank will be lending US$100 million to the Dominican government for efforts of the Ministry of Education to improve the quality of education. The funds will be used to advance a comprehensive plan of reforms underway for public education. These include the extended school day, improvements in teacher training and qualifications and the modernization of the Ministry of Education (MINERD).
The World Bank points out that improving student learning outcomes is the main challenge facing the Dominican Republic’s education system. Dominican students ranked last among the most recent Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) scores, and only 27% of third grade students achieve a satisfactory level of learning in mathematics, according to a diagnostic by MINERD.
The World Bank says that the financing will be focused to further increasing the quality of teacher recruitment and training, institutionalizing the collection and use of student learning data, and decentralizing the management of public schools. The program will build on the existing Support to the National Education Pact Project, which launched a competitive selection system to raise academic standards of newly recruited teachers and improve education quality, and conducted a complete learning diagnostic of all third grade students to better inform education planning and adjust teacher training. In addition, the World Bank is providing technical assistance on strengthening statistical systems, leveraging technology to have a higher impact in learning, as well as on strengthening risk management in schools as part of the WB’s global Safe Schools Program.
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El Dia
17 December 2018
