President Luis Abinader chaired a meeting of the oversight commission on the start of the new school year. One of the more remarkable notes that was brought up was the fact that over 120,000 teachers have been receiving training in what is called the STEAM curriculum. This is basically what is called the STEM curriculum with the addition of Arts to Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics.
Minister of Education Luis Miguel De Camps noted that preparation for this year’s start of the school year has been focusing on four main areas: infrastructure and capacity, teachers and administrators, student welfare, and the supply of educational materials. The year will start with over 1,200 new classrooms, and 302 mobile teaching units.
The 120,000 teachers are being instructed by 8,000 technicians and academic professionals in the STEAM areas. The goal is to produce high school graduates who are more prepared to enter the work force which, itself, is becoming more technology-oriented each day.
The school year begins in just two weeks, on 25 August, when millions of children will be returning to the nation’s public and private schools.
President Abinader noted that the current program of introducing the STEAM curriculum is part of a process that began back in 2022, and follows a plan developed by the Ministry of Education.
The Ministry of Education reports that hundreds of classrooms have been updated to enable the use of new technologies for STEAM programs. The STEAM program starts in pre-school.
President Abinader is very proud of the fact that during his tenure he has tripled the number of primary-school children through the creation of childcare centers. This year, around 80 new pre-school centers will open.
Read more in Spanish:
Ministry of Education
El Caribe
11 August 2025