Despite an official announcement more than a year ago, the planned merger of the Ministry of Education (Minerd) and the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology (Mescyt) has been postponed to tell from allotments in the National Budget 2026 presented to the National Congress via the Ministry of Hacienda.
The continuity of separate operations is confirmed by the budgetary figures. According to the draft general budget, Mescyt will receive a total allocation of RD$23.27 billion for 2026. This is comprised of RD$22.69 billion for current expenses and RD$576.2 million designated for capital expenditures.
The presence of separate budgetary allocations for both institutions signals that the integration—announced by President Luis Abinader on 16 September 2024, as part of an administrative reform plan aimed at greater efficiency in public spending—will not be executed in the short term.
This delay comes after the Ministry of the Presidency stated in January 2025 that the consolidation process was “in the final stretch.”
The government did go through with the merge of the Ministry of Economy and Planning with the Ministry of Hacienda.
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El Nacional
8 October 2025