Children get to go back to school once the new school year reopens in September 2021, President Luis Abinader announced after meeting with Minister of Education Roberto Furcal at the Ministry of Education on 8 July 2021. The President said the 2021-2022 school year will be face-to-face. Furcal had been known for backing remote learning versus in- person learning.
The Ministry of Education has invested billions in remote learning equipment and programs. Now the efforts are focused on preparing the schools to reopen.
Abinader stressed the importance of having children back in school as a major step for the return to the new normal in the country.
“As long as our children are not in the classroom, we cannot speak of normalcy. The fact is that the attendance to classes impacts all the activities of the communities,” said the President.
Abinader announced that around 300 public schools with 1,125 new classrooms will be offering extended day programs. Private schools have already been authorized to reopen.
Public Works Minister Deligne Ascención was present for the meeting. The Ministry of Public Works is assisting in the preparation of the public schools. The Minister of Public Works is helping fund the repairs needed at the public schools that have been closed since March 2020.
A press release from the Presidency indicates that Abinader is satisfied with the planning of the new school year and the institutional strategic plan.
The President also received a report on the evolution of the 2020-2021 school year, the changes remote learning have meant to the national education system and the main programs and projects implemented during the same.
The Minister of Education advanced that the next school year will begin to show the fundamental elements of the new educational model being promoted in the country. “Educational opportunities for all Dominicans, educational quality, pertinence and relevance of the processes and employability to guarantee that people live better,” stressed Education Minister Roberto Furcal, as reported in a government press release.
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9 July 2021