Educational experts blame the Dominican Association of Public School Teachers (ADP) for the low quality of public education in the Dominican Republic. Union members are out for their own benefits, while the levels of quality education have kept low despite billions invested in the sector. The appointing of a Roberto Furcal, an ADP leader to head the Ministry of Education for the first two years of the Abinader administration, did not help. Now new Education Minister Angel Hernandez, a professional educator from the private sector, has constantly clashed with the union.
On Tuesday, 21 June 2023, President Luis Abinader announced that a meeting at the Presidential Palace took place with the ADP. He is optimistic that the agreement will move the efforts to improve public education. President Luis Abinader, Minister of Education Angel Hernandez, Ombudsman Pablo Ulloa and the president of the ADP announced a 10-point agreement after a two-hour meeting at the Green Room of the Presidential Palace.
Ulloa said that the 10 points to be worked on have to do with the pedagogical part, supplies, completion of schools, the didactic part, what has to do with performance, the indexation of pensioners, the appointment of new personnel and the strengthening of the management capacities of the country’s public schools.
He also added that there was a lot of openness for dialogue and that those present focused on the quality of the teachers’ capacity just as much as the supplies and the management services provided by the Ministry of Education for better education.
The Presidency reports that the Minister of Education Ángel Hernández is optimistic consensus will be reached for the well being of the country and education in general.
On his side, the president of the ADP, Eduardo Hidalgo indicated that progress is being made in the discussions “and next week we will be concluding a great agreement for Dominican education which will be announced to the whole country and to the teachers, parents and students”.
The President was accompanied by the Administrative Minister of the Presidency, José Ignacio Paliza, and the Minister of the Presidency, Joel Santos.
For the ADP, those attending were its president Eduardo Hidalgo, Juan de Dios Núñez; Máximo Santiago, Zoraida Trinidad, Isaías Solano, Julio Canelo, Víctor García, Primitiva Medina, Franco de los Santos, Miguel Fernández, Franklín Ferreras, Génesis Santos, Cesarín Acosta, Zenón Padilla, Luis Ventura and Ángel Cuello.
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Presidency
21 June 2023