The new director of the Dominican Telecommunications Institute (Indotel), Nelson Arroyo threw a bucket of ice water on those dreaming about digital learning being the standard. Arroyo says the reality is that the prevailing poor connectivity is making virtual learning difficult for this school year. He said the focus should be on distance learning programs via radio and television for the rest of the year.
President Luis Abinader has announced the 2020-2021 school year will begin on 2 November with online classes, radio and TV instruction. The government has announced plans to invest heavily to provide laptops, notebooks and tablets to public school teachers and students. Abinader has expressed high hopes the Covid-19 situation will serve to push the country to reduce the digital divide.
When asked about Arroyo’s opinion, Vice President Raquel Peña said the government is working intensely to make digital learning possible for this school year. Education Minister Roberto Furcal later went public to reaffirm that Arroyo is not saying anything they didn’t know. He said that where connectivity is poor, they will use television and radio to reach the students. But that most of the public school students will be able to benefit from the new digital learning programs.
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N Digital
Super7FM
2 September 2020