Minister of Education Alejandrina German admitted to reporters that there were at least 447 schools in the country in need of serious repairs or reconstruction. When reporters from Hoy asked her about the comments made by UNICEF representative Tad Palac, who said that as long as the educational system lacked furniture and adequate facilities, children could not be guaranteed their right to education, the minister said that he was right. However, the minister was quick to point out that this is a problem the Dominican Republic shares with most of the world’s poorer countries. Governments do not have enough money to cope with the demands of the society. When the minister was asked to comment on newspaper reports about deteriorating school buildings, she replied that “They will continue publishing these reports since there are 447 schools that need repairs, the newspapers have more than a year’s supply of stories.” She promised that the government would continue to fight to improve the schools; a situation that she pointed out “was decades old.”