The bill of fusion of the Ministry of Education, minerdand the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology, Mescyt, violates the consensus reached after a year and a half of hard work by the commission that reviewed the General Education Law, 66-97, denounced Professor Enrique de León, who formed part of this commission representing the Dominican Association of Teachers, ADP.
According to Professor de León, the merger bill of the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology ignores, alters or omits important aspects of this consensus regarding the financing of pre-university education, the composition of the National Council of Education, CNE, and the regional and district education boards, the decentralized nature of various entities attached to the Minerd, to the retirement and pension of teachers, and to the financing of teaching organizations.
Although the new bill included many other aspects of the consensus contained in the draft Organic Law of Education, LOE, the ignorance or alteration of these points detracts from the work of the commission that is in charge of the merger process of Minerd and the Mescyt, and make any agreement with the national teachers difficult.
He stated that when he signed on behalf of the Dominican Association of Teachers, ADP, the consensus contained in the draft Organic Law of Education, LOE, prepared by the commission designated by the Ministry of Education, he and the ADP, as well as the other members of this commission, to fully defend this consensus and the achievements contained therein.
Financing of pre-university education
He pointed out that first of all, the project to merge the ministries of Education and Higher Education, Science and Technology, in its article 60, changed the terms of financing pre-university education, omitting the progressive increase up to the minimum of 6%. to 2030.
“Article 24 agreed upon in the draft Organic Law of Education, LOE, which would replace the current General Law of Education, 66-97, establishes that the annual public investment in pre-university education must be no less than 4%, and a progressive increase up to a minimum of 6% by 2030, based on a management model oriented to learning and sustainable development,” he said.
He indicated that this article of the LOE project reflects the National Development Strategy Law, 1-12, which in its article 2.20 provides that public spending for education as a percentage of GDP, must be 5% by 2015, in 2020, 6%, in 2025, 6.5% and in 2030, 7%.
He stated that the bill for the merger of the ministries of Education and Higher Education, Science and Technology, in its article 101, added a representative of NGOs and two independent professionals as members of the National Council of Education, CNE, who did not They are contemplated in article 54 or in any other of the consensual draft of the Organic Law of Education, LOE.
Likewise, Professor de León points out, articles 122 and 124 of the version of the merger of the Ministries of Education and Higher Education, Science and Technology, added a representative of the churches in the Regional and District Boards of Education. These representatives do not exist in the consensus of the commission that prepared the draft Organic Law of Education, LOE.
Stripping away the decentralized nature of various entities
He described as very serious that the bill to merge the ministries of Education and Higher Education, Science and Technology strips the National Institute of Teacher Education and Training, INAFOCAM, the National Institute of Student Welfare, INABIE, of their decentralized character, and to the National Institute of Physical Education, INEFI, when in the consensus of the draft Organic Law of Education, LOE, these entities retain this character recognized by the current General Law of Education, 66-97.
“This agreement on the character or decentralized nature of these institutions attached to Minerd took months of work for the official commission, which included the appearance of representatives of these entities and several experts,” said Professor de León.
Another serious violation of the consensus established in the commission appointed by the Ministry of Education by the project to merge the ministries of Education and Higher Education, Science and Technology is regarding the retirement and pension of teachers, he reported.
Retirement for teachers after 25 years of service is eliminated
He stated that in article 175 of the project for the merger of the ministries, the right of the servant of the educational system to retire at 25 years of service was altered, regardless of the age established in article 76 of the project of the Organic Law. of Education, LOE.
The text of article 175 of the draft law on the merger of the ministries says “The servant of the educational system acquires the right to request his retirement upon reaching 30 years in service, regardless of age, or at 25 years in service and 60 years of age, with 100% of the average of the last 12 salaries.”
He observed that in article 176 of the merger project of the ministries establishes that the first step of the pension scale is 5 to 15 years, when in article 77, Paragraph II of the LOE project it is 0 to 15 years, with the 60% of the average salary earned in the last 12 months.
Finally, Professor de León referred to the omission in the bill of merger of the ministries of Education and Higher Education, Science and Technology of article 127 of the draft of the Organic Law of Education, LOE, which provides that “ “Teaching staff organizations have the right to receive, with prior authorization from the teacher, the membership fee via the payroll of their members, without any charge or discount.”
He advocated that the consensus achieved by the commission appointed by the Ministry of Education that prepared the draft Organic Law on Education, LOE, be respected both in the draft law for the merger of the ministries of Education and Higher Education, Science and Technology. , like in any other scenario.
