Abinader says his administration will turn around education; virtual school year announced
“We are betting on the talent and future of our young people to achieve progress and development,” President Luis Abinader said in his inaugural speech on 16 August 2020. He highlighted knowledge is essential to development. “The Dominican Republic needs a better education system,” he stressed.
The previous Medina administration was the first to dedicate 4% of the Gross Domestic Product to the education sector in 2012. Abinader in his speech criticized the enormous amount of resources that did not result in better math and reading comprehension skills. He said the resources were more about transacting “business deals” than educating the people. He mentioned that international standardized tests list Dominican students at the bottom and were not an improvement in the skills and competencies of Dominican students despite the larger budget available.
“The Dominican educational model is broken,” Abinader declared. He said it does not contribute to the development of the nation. He promised the new government will seek to make widespread changes so that students graduate with the social skills to be better citizens and have better jobs or create their own businesses.
He says his new minister of Education, Roberto Fulcar, would be presenting the national plan next week. The past authorities had said the school would resume on 24 August in-person and online.
The Abinader government has already announced it is going strictly with virtual education for the rest of the year. Abinader declared public school children would receive a laptop or notebook for their distance learning. He said the government is working with telecom companies to ensure connectivity.
He announced his government is backing the state university, the UASD. Abinader’s family fortune is in part tied to the operation of the Universidad O&M, a low-cost private university that directly competed with the state university.
Source: DR1
Aug 19, 2020
Category: DR News |