Santo Domingo.-In the middle of multiple deficiencies, the authorities failed to comply with the 10 years to prepare physical and pedagogical logistics, for register in public schools the children aged 3 to 5 yearsas the National Pact for Educational Reform signed by the Government, religious, business and political sectors in 2014.
This logistics, which is intended to apply now without conditions, includes the construction of thousands of classrooms and the hiring of thousands of teachers trained to work with that school population.
Last year, the Ministry of Education made a contest to hire professors of the preschool level, but the amount that was presented did not meet the needs.
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Likewise, Cubicaciones delivered to a group of engineers to start the construction of 2,000 classrooms for the population aged 3 to 5, consisting of 20% of the cost of these works.
However, there are no clear information about the levels of advances of these works.
“There was a failure in the construction process of preschool and has had to look for other alternatives,” said a source.
“The system was 10 years to prepare and did not,” he continued.
The pact was signed by the then president Danilo Medinaduring a ceremony in the Las Cariátidas Hall of the National Palace, with the participation, in addition, civil society organizations, guilds, and non -profit associations.
Initial education
On initial education, the Pact “focuses on the children of 3 to 5 years receive a quality initial education, which promotes their integral development and prepares for subsequent educational stages.”
It raises “the qualification and equipment of schools, as well as the provision of didactic materials necessary to serve this population.”
Likewise, “it is considered important to make family member diagnoses to identify the population of 3 to 5 years that require educational attention and thus be able to provide them with the necessary support.”
“The Educational Pact recognizes the importance of initial education for the integral development of children, and undertakes to expand coverage, improve quality and guarantee access to quality education for this population.”
No strings attached
Last week, the Minister of Education, Luis Miguel de Camps, reported that next school year, which begins on August 25, there will be a 30 % increase in the registration of 3 -year -old children who will first enter the public education system, as part of the policy of expansion of the initial level developed by the Government.
The official made the announcement during a meeting of the monitoring commission at the beginning of the school year, headed by President Luis Abinader, at the headquarters of the Ministry of Education.
However, the Dominican Association of Teachers (ADP) assured that there are current or pedagogical conditions to host about 57,000 students with ages 3 years and older, which will enter the classes in the national territory for the first time.
The union that groups public teachers said that some 1,500 teachers specialized in preschool education are not named to work with these children.
He said that about 2 thousand classrooms are not built to welcome that population, or the furniture and specialized didactic material.
Close a gap
The objective of creating a space in public schools for children from 3 years is to end social inequality that means that private education accepts children from the age of 3 and the public system is not.
Yahaira Sosa Machado, Executive Director of Business Action for Education (EDUCA) and Juana M. Encarnación, Dean of the Faculty of Education of the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo (UASD) highlighted the convenience of incorporating that population into the classrooms and affirmed that in some schools that task is being fulfilled.
“As an institution we have always supported education from early childhood,” said Sosa.
A note
Initial education demands
Paints, believers, paper, plasticine, scissors, puzzles, lace, accounts are essential materials in a classroom for preschool students, with ages of 3 to 5 years, where the game and the interction between them are the main learning tools.
Classroom activities must be related to the child’s family and cultural environment. The striking image books, varied textures, and simple stories that stimulate language should not be missing. Nor the elements of nature such as stones, daughters, branches and other elements that allow exploring and being in contact with the environment.
