Santo Domingo.- The president of the Dominican Association of Teachers (ADP)Eduardo Hidalgo on Tuesday described the merger between Minerd and Mescyt announced by the government as an assault on the 4% of education.
“The merger of Minerd-Mescyt is only an assault on the 4% funds for Education that would further aggravate the serious crisis that Dominican education is going through,” he said.
According to him, there is no evidence to suggest that this integration will improve the quality of education or optimize spending in the sector.
“The inability that the Ministry of Educationin responding effectively to the specific needs of the educational level that it is responsible for managing, would only worsen the deficiencies that the Dominican school system exhibits today.
Hidalgo points out that neither the Ministry of Public Administration nor the Ministry of the Presidency have provided evidence of how the merger between MESCYT and MINERD would benefit education.
It also questions the government’s ability to present arguments based on scientific research to support the integration of these ministries.
«To date, the Dominican Government has been unable to demonstrate to citizens that the justifications it has presented to propose such a merger are based on any evidence, educational research or feasibility analysis contextualized to the Dominican reality and the nature of both institutions.
The ADP president said there is no evidence from any study that shows that the unification of both entities leads to an improvement in learning.
«Likewise, no study with rigor and scientific validity has demonstrated that the merger between MESCYT and MINERD would generate greater coherence in actions to improve learning, through the integration of initial, primary, secondary and higher education levels»
He said there is no precedent or evidence to suggest that this merger will strengthen the national education system or align education with the country’s priorities in science and technology.
In his opinion, the decision to merge the ministries is not based on solid foundations and could aggravate the current problems in the Dominican educational system.
«It has not been demonstrated, in any experience, research or contextualized study, that the merger between MESCYT and MINERD would strengthen the National Education System. Therefore, we are faced with a merger that has no foundations, background, or evidence to support it.» Eduardo Hidalgo said in a press release.
