Education Minister Ángel Hernández guaranteed on Thursday that no student will be left out of the classrooms in the school year that begins next Monday and attributed to “pure speculation” the figures indicating that there are 300,000 students without a place and a deficit of 7,000 classrooms.
He said that any shortage of classrooms will be resolved with the school voucher, which consists of paying tuition in private schools for students who apply for a place.
He said that these private centers are paid the equivalent of 500 dollars for each child’s complete schooling and that, last year, the investment for this concept was RD$220 million.
He said that for this school year the Ministry of Education had a waiting list of 16,000 students, but that they were enrolled in private schools.
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“A place has been found for everyone who has applied,” said the government official at a press conference in which he was accompanied by deputy ministers Francisco D’ Oleo, Ancell Shecker, Rolando Reyes, Oscar Amargós and the Cabinet coordinator, Clara Joa.
“The idea is that no one is left out of the classrooms. That no one is left out means that students are admitted by the public sector or they are admitted by the private sector and the Ministry pays for it,” he continued.
Bavaro and Punta Cana
Minister Hernández stated that, for the current school year, in the province of La Altagracia, 7,000 students were left out of the classrooms, due to the high levels of migration of families who move to the tourist areas of Bávaro, Punta Cana, Verón in search of jobs.
However, he said that “today, this problem has been resolved. There is no pressure in Higüey, because the necessary solutions have been sought.”
He explained that “these students were taken to private schools or facilities for those purposes.”
New schools
Hernández said that only 4,223 students used the voucher in the 2024-2025 school year and that “this year it will certainly not exceed that figure,” because this year the Government opened 34 new schools and before the end of next September another 21 schools will begin operating.
He specified that in the 2023-2024 school year it was said that 200 thousand schoolchildren would be left out of the classrooms, but that when the Ministry of Education implemented the school voucher to support families so that their children can attend private schools. Only 2,200 children enrolled through that channel used that voucher.
He explained that those who speculate about the number of children outside the classrooms cannot prove their claims, referring to complaints in this regard by the Dominican Association of Teachers (ADP).
He attributed these accusations to political reasons.
“The ADP is conducting a political campaign for its October 9 elections,” the official said.
He said the public should take any complaint made by the union with a grain of salt.
With tweezers
Education Minister Ángel Hernández attributed the complaints of the Dominican Association of Teachers (ADP) about the shortage of classrooms to political reasons.
“The ADP is conducting a political campaign for its October 9 elections,” the official said.
He said that the population should take his complaints with a grain of salt.
