It’s the time of the year when suddenly everyone notices that traffic somewhat declines. School is out.
Long articles appeared in most of the nation’s major newspapers that noted that the 2022 – 2023 school years was coming to an end. None of the media had much good to say about the results. The year was marked by violence and a general lack of scholastic achievement in most of the nation’s public schools.
Entities such as the Business Action for Education (EDUCA), the Dominican Teachers Association (ADP), and a Parents Association (Apmae) were in agreement that this was not a good year. Indeed, the 2022 – 2023 school year was one of the shortest on record at just 37 weeks. This was due, in part, to adjustments that resulted from the pandemic.
Moreso, the school calendar was marred by strife between the Ministry of Education and the ADP, the powerful public school teacher’s union.
Making matters worse, there were notable failures regarding staffing, teaching materials, equipment such as school desks, and food supplies.
As a result of all this, testing scores were not considered to be very positive. However, Educa noted that the educational process during the pandemic did improve math skills, yet there was a notable decrease in verbal skills.
All these issues have given the new Education Minister Angel Hernandez (a noted educator) quite a lot to deal with during his first term as the chief administrator of the country’s educational system.
Read more in Spanish:
El Caribe
20 June 2023