SANTO DOMINGO.-“The root problem and the original failure of Dominican education lies in not encouraging people to think and develop critical thinking,” said Roberto Fulcar, Minister of Education, yesterday, who associated many of the ills that affect the society in the absence of values and training.
The official spoke at a press conference with the United Nations System, where they announced the Great National Consultation from June 6 to 11 at the national level, which seeks the qualitative transformation of Dominican education.
There, Fulcar made a retrospective of the learning from Covid-19, of the negative and positive, but the most important thing he said was that he put education at the center of the articulations of all social problems.
He cited as an example the recent tragedy that occurred in a school in Texas, United States, in which he concluded that delinquency, violence and a culture of peace, teenage pregnancies, only have a solution in the educational processes of the new generations.
He affirmed that for a decade, educating high school graduates simply meant giving a diploma to mom and dad, but now it is being seen with a more practical, strategic sense and committed to solving a main problem, which is: employability.
“In the case of the Dominican Republic, where we are in the process of transforming high schools into polytechnics to guarantee students a trade and promoting English as a second language, which is employability, there we are not only solving an educational problem, but also a social gap. and the inequality of opportunities for decent and quality employment,” Fulcar pointed out.
He said that the decade that began in 2020 to 30 is that of education, so the planning and emphasis are focused on the aforementioned topic.
He stressed that the lack of quality, pertinent, relevant, timely, reliable and accurate data to support decision-making, in the country, the Caribbean region and the world, which is one of the failures to properly articulate the solutions of the problems.
In the activity, accompanied by Julissa Hernández, Vice Minister of Qualification and Educational Development, as well as by Mauricio Ramírez, Resident Coordinator in the DR of the United Nations System, the official pondered the initiative that will be launched and the exchange of experiences.
Query
For the Great National Consultation, the Minerd established a schedule and work methodology that include activities in the 18 Education regions, in which center directors, civil society, students, Associations of Fathers, Mothers, Tutors and Friends of the School will participate. , as well as the Dominican Association of Teachers.
Consultation aspects
—1— Topics to be discussed
Inclusive, equitable, safe, healthy schools, learning and skills for life, work and sustainable development, etc.
—2— Purpose
Consult part of the Sustainable Development Goals and seek to move actions and solutions that improve education.
Covid-19 control in DR schools
Addressed Protocol in relation to what the Ministry does to prevent the spread of Covid-19 said that at no time have they lowered their guard, and rigorously apply the biosafety protocol, not only with students, but with teachers and support staff to remain at the forefront of health care.
“Last year for Christmas, the country ended with a 5.8 percent level of infections. However, in the educational community it was 1.8% and in the case of students it was just 0.8%, which means that the school is always a safer place”.
