The proposal of President Luis Abinader to merge the Ministries of Higher Education, Science and Technology (Mescyt) and the Ministry of Education (México) caused a great stir in the educational and political community. Education (Minerd)with the majority of opinions rejecting the measure, considering that it will worsen the operation of both institutions.
The opinions on the subject, issued separately, come from the presidents of the Dominican Association of Professors (ADP), Eduardo Hidalgo; the Dominican Association of University Rectors (ADRU), Reverend Sergio de la Cruz; and the Dominican College of Lawyers (CARD), Trajano Potentini.
Also present were the Minister of Higher Education, Franklyn García Fermín, and the former President of the Republic and leader of the Fuerza del Pueblo party, Leonel Fernández Reyna.
An assault on the 4%
Eduardo Hidalgo, from the ADP, described the proposal as an assault on the Ministry of Education’s budget, equivalent to 4% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
He said the measure would aggravate the crisis in the country’s public education system.
“This decision is not based on any local study or research that has shown that the merger of these two ministries is an appropriate option to improve the quality and efficiency of the education system as a whole, which is what we should aspire to,” said the union leader.
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Sergio de la Cruz, president of ADRU, said that he is in favor of maintaining the achievements in higher education in the merger of both ministries.
In a statement, the agency said that this process should be aimed at strengthening the quality of the education sector.
Minister rejects
Franklyn García Fermín, Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology, rejected the proposal. He said that Education is an institution full of problems and that the merger would complicate its performance.
“You are going to bring the ADP and the unionism to the universities, because if you organize the pre-university teachers, you must organize the university teachers as well,” he said.
He said that university education has advanced rapidly in the country, where there are 57 registered universities and higher education centers, which are subject to evaluations every five years, “something very complex.”
Leonel Fernandez
Former President Leonel Fernández, leader of the Fuerza del Pueblo (FP), rejected the merger of the two ministries, arguing that both institutions have completely different functions.
He said that higher education and basic and secondary education constitute two areas of education that are “radically different and must be kept separate.”
Trajano Potentini, president of the Bar Association, rejected Abinader’s proposal, arguing that these institutions have very different roles.
The question was raised as to what would become of the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology, under the scrutiny of the ADP and its interruptions in teaching.
Merger of ministries
The government announced yesterday the merger of five ministries, the elimination of eight institutions and the absorption of nine. The institutions to be merged are the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology with the Ministry of Education; the Ministry of Economy, Planning and Development with the Ministry of Finance; and the Ministry of the Presidency will be abolished.
