Students on the campus of the Universidad Autonoma de Santo Domingo (UASD) protested against a recent presidential decree regulating standards for higher education, by dumping rubbish in the street, blocking a regular public transport route and throwing stones at anti-riot police. The incidents, which took place on 5 and 6 August, forced the closing of Avenida Correa y Cidron, and Avenida Independenia near the corner of Alma Mater. Traffic was diverted to Avenida George Washington (El Malecon), creating tremendous jams and inconvenience for commuters.
The presidential decree No. 259-98 on Higher Education sets academic standards to be implemented in all accredited universities in the D.R., which according to students and some faculty members of UASD could take away some of the state-funded university’s autonomy. Meetings have recently taken place to try to change certain parts of the decree, in order to make it less threatening to the freedom of university administrations.
Participants at the meetings included the current rector of UASD, Edylberto Cabral; former vice-rector, Jesus de la Rosa; judicial consultant to the President, Hector Perez Reyes; the Minister of Education, Jose Andres Aybar Sanchez, and the director of the Council for Higher Education, Hector Rodriguez Cruz, who drafted the original decree.