School teachers are included in the Phase I priority group for the Dominican Republic Vaccination Plan. Phase I calls for medical, military and police personnel, 60+ seniors + teachers older than 18 years to be vaccinated from March to April. The vaccinations would be in time for the next school year that begins in late August/September 2021. The President said the protocol to restart in-person classes contemplates starting with pre-school and elementary schools.
Groups of parents, private schools and teachers are motivating the government for a gradual return to in-person learning.
The position of Education Minister Roberto Furcal is that he awaits clearance from the Ministry of Public Health.
The number of cases and the positivity rate has been declining in recent weeks in the Dominican Republic.
Early when he was named, Public Health Minister Plutarco Arias had said that he considered a positivity rate of 10% for a return to in-person classes.
Parents for In-Person Learning, a new group that is fostering the start of private school in-person learning, is submitting a legal recourse against the President, Vice President, Minister of Education and Minister of Public Health to demand the government clear schools that meet with preventive standards to reopen.
The group says the warning of the emotional effects the pandemic has had on children. The members of the association complain everything in the country is open except the schools. The legal recourse demands the government be clear about the parameters and dates for the restart of education. It gives the government 15 days to submit a concrete plan for reopening. A similar recourse was submitted and was successful in reopening Dominican courts. The National State of Emergency Law establishes that education is a right that cannot be suspended. The movement says that 30% of the students have not had access to remote learning during the pandemic.
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Press conference 15 February 2021
El Caribe
15 February 2021