Spanish
Santo Domingo.- The provincial director of the Ministry of Education in Santiago, Pedro Pablo Marte, reported this Wednesday that the Leonardo Da Vinci Institute violated the official protocol for school excursions in the outing where an 11-year-old student died at the Los Caballos hacienda, in Gurabo.
Mars indicated that there is no evidence that the educational center formally notified the activity to either the school district or the regional office, as required by current regulations.
“The Ministry is informed and already has everything in its hands. We did what we had to do”, he said. Marte specified that Education does not bring forward criminal actions, but rather limits itself to verifying compliance with the protocol, which —he said— has already been determined to have been violated. He added that the case has deeply affected the educational staff. The official also rejected that there is any racial or discriminatory component in the case because it involves a Haitian girl, assuring that all students, regardless of their nationality, receive the same rights and treatment in educational centers. The victim, Stephora Anne-Mircie Joseph, 11 years old, died last Friday, November 14, during a field trip for outstanding students from the Leonardo Da Vinci Institute.
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"So far, we do not have a record showing that the output was reported according to the established procedure," he affirmed. The protocol indicates that every excursion must have a defined curricular objective and have written authorization from the parents. According to the official, at least one of these conditions was not met in this activity. The MINERD representative indicated that the institution has already submitted all documentation and conclusions regarding the violation of the protocol to the corresponding authorities, and clarified that the sanctions will fall on higher levels, not on the provincial or regional direction.“The Ministry is informed and already has everything in its hands. We did what we had to do”, he said. Marte specified that Education does not bring forward criminal actions, but rather limits itself to verifying compliance with the protocol, which —he said— has already been determined to have been violated. He added that the case has deeply affected the educational staff. The official also rejected that there is any racial or discriminatory component in the case because it involves a Haitian girl, assuring that all students, regardless of their nationality, receive the same rights and treatment in educational centers. The victim, Stephora Anne-Mircie Joseph, 11 years old, died last Friday, November 14, during a field trip for outstanding students from the Leonardo Da Vinci Institute.
