Santo Domingo.-A report from the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) highlights that there was an increase from 17 to 50% in levels of learning of writing and mathematics in Dominican children in the first three levels of basic education.
The improvements were presented in the context of the 79th United Nations (UN) General Assembly and Future Summit, held last week in New York, United States.
This is the result of the National Program Building the Learning Base (Con Base), which Unicef implements in vulnerable areas of the country, in collaboration with the Dominican government.
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“The Dominican Republic sees significant improvements in learning with the finding that 50% of students have achieved acceptable levels in writing after the implementation of the Con Base Program, compared to 17% previously,” said the international organization.
“It is an evidence-based initiative that has shown positive results in improving fundamental learning in Spanish and mathematics for students from 1st to 3rd grade in vulnerable areas,” he said, in a press report sent to the media.
“This approach has shown that it is possible to close the learning gap with effective investments and solid planning,” the agency continued.
Investing imperative
Within the framework of the United Nations conclave, the governments of the Dominican Republic and Chile, together with multilateral organizations, made an “urgent call” to increase financing for education in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The call was supported by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the World Bank (WB) and other organizations.
It is an effort to reduce the “alarming gap” in learning outcomes that has left many children in the region behind, especially after the impact of the covid-19 pandemic.
They expressed that investing in education in Latin America is essential to break the cycle of poverty, promote equity and build more just societies.
Dominican case
Mandeep O’Brien, director of the Public Partnerships Division of Unicef, expressed that “the experience in the Dominican Republic, when working on the Con Base program, demonstrates a good example of when an efficient and effective investment is carried out in education for the region”.
He said that with a student population where 75% do not achieve basic skills in mathematics and 50% in reading, it is essential to act immediately. “Education cannot wait,” says the organization.
a note
Act immediately
Chile and the Dominican Republic warned that with a student population where 75% do not achieve basic skills in mathematics and 50% in reading, it is essential to act immediately. They said that before the coronavirus, 52% of 10-year-old children in Latin America and the Caribbean could not read or understand a story. That figure could rise to 79%.
