SANTO DOMINGO.-The Economic and Social Council (CES) has committed to promoting a pact for the quality of education that involves all the vital forces of society, following the request of President Luis Abinader on August 26 at the beginning of the school year.
He said that once the methodological proposal has been agreed upon and approved, it will be announced and the corresponding timeline to follow will be established.
The organization, chaired by the former rector of Intec, Rafael Toribio, and made up of representatives from three sectors (labor, social and business), said that it is important to highlight that the National Pact for Educational Reform 2014-2030 includes the issue of the quality of education and cited some of the aspects included.
These include the quality of pre-university education, the quality of higher education and of technical-vocational education and training, points on which the commitments made by the actors in the system are developed. However, ten years after the signing of this commitment, the progress of the educational system is not defined for many in society who expect concrete solutions.
Weaknesses
The poor level of teaching, the physical conditions of the schools, the lack of teacher evaluation, as well as the limited number of places for students in schools are all being questioned.
The actions envisaged in the pact include dignifying the teaching profession, providing the education system with the necessary infrastructure and resources, as well as an appropriate system for evaluating educational quality.
Function of the CES
It is recalled that the Economic and Social Council is a consultative and social coordination body of the Executive Branch, in economic, social and labor matters, created by Decree 13-05 on January 25, 2005.
Since 2010, Article 251 of the Constitution has granted it the status of a constitutional body.
In 2015, Law 142-15 was enacted, establishing the Economic and Social Council of the Dominican Republic and its mission is the permanent construction and strengthening of social peace through frank, open and participatory dialogue.
Consultations
— They are still valid
After receiving the call from President Abinader, Jacqueline Malagón, former Minister of Education, said that the sectors that make up the CES make contributions and respond to the educational pact that has been in force for 6 years.
Education and energy are crucial issues
Consultations. Among the main topics and achievements of the CES, Toribio mentions the implementation of the Contributory Regime for Family Health Insurance produced in 2006; the Constitutional Reform of 2010; the National Development Strategy in 2012, as well as the National Pact for Educational Reform 2014-2030 signed in April 2014.
He also referred to the National Pact for the Reform of the Electric Sector signed in February 2021 and currently the Dialogue process for the Reforms for Institutional Strengthening and Efficient Management of the State. The latter are still in force, without concrete results.
