The Dominican Association of Teachers (ADP) today gathered hundreds of English teachers and students in front of the Ministry of Education headquarters to demand the replacement of the “Productive Bilingual Bachelors” program in 534 public schools.
The teachers’ union reported that the suspension of the program affects almost 300,000 students and more than 1,000 English teachers and technicians.
Last week, the National Institute for Teacher Education and Training (Inafocan) suspended this program, which would be carried out through the Valdez Professional Training academy, through which 700 teachers and 297,732 public sector students would be trained, at a cost of RD$558 million.
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Inafocan justified the measure by pointing out that the project did not start on schedule and was not contemplated in the 2022 Annual Operating Plan (POA) and that its contracting was submitted “through the exception process as a sole provider.”
It also alleged that for its award to Valdez Professional Training a budget modification was necessary that implied the diversion of RD$ 598 million, equivalent to 94 percent of the funds of that institution.
ADP says a right is denied
Juan Valdez, president of the Association of English Teachers, a branch of the ADPaffirmed during the concentration that the suspension of the program “denies foreign language teachers and technicians their right to teacher education and training, since the teachers participating in the Bilingualism Program were participating in training sessions.”
He indicated that these conferences were suspended without any explanation from the Ministry of Education or Inafocan.
“Currently, the Ministry of Education has nothing to offer foreign language teachers and technicians, nor does it have a pedagogically effective proposal, based on educational research, to achieve English learning at school,” Valdez stated.
challenge the minister
“We challenge the Minister of Education and the executive director of Inafocan to demonstrate with documents, evidence, any of their allegations,” said Valdez.
“They have made a plot to prevent children from learning English in schools,” he said.
“We demand that the authorities do not continue to handle the English subject as a filler in school hours,” he said.
He considered that “bilingualism is a luxury in our country, to which only the children of wealthy families have access, while public school children are denied the right to this important competition of the 21st century.”
This program would be taught in nine grades of school, from the fourth grade to the sixth grade.
