FP questions MINERD's failures in Teacher Performance Evaluation

Santo Domingo.– The national coordinator of the Fuerza Magisterial current, Adhamilka Espinal, questioned the deficiencies and improvisation with which, according to her, the Ministry of Education (MINERD) has developed the current Teacher Performance Evaluation (EDD), considering that the interruptions and failures recorded have generated uncertainty and emotional effects on thousands of teachers. Espinal maintained that the inconveniences presented during the process reflect a lack of planning on the part of the current government management of the Modern Revolutionary Party (PRM). He recalled that the Teacher Performance Evaluation should have been carried out every three years and assured that it had not been executed during the present administration.

The teacher leader stated that the absence of periodic evaluations limits the education system's ability to apply timely corrections and accurately measure the structural weaknesses of Dominican education.

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"We all know the psychological and emotional damage caused by the postponement of this evaluation stage," Espinal said, referring to the problems recorded on the digital platform used by the MINERD and the constant interruptions of the process. The representative of Fuerza Magisterial offered these statements during an internal workshop led by Josefina Pimentel, head of the Secretariat of Education of the Fuerza del Pueblo, with the participation of members of the National Directorate of the current and vice-secretaries of Education from different provinces.

During his intervention, he explained that the evaluation process went directly from stage four to six because, as he indicated, the Ministry of Education was not prepared to develop stage five, corresponding to the knowledge test. "And so it was proven. The platforms collapsed for not having enough equipment," Espinal affirmed, pointing out that the situation occurred due to the simultaneous access of thousands of users without adequate foresight from the educational authorities.

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He also indicated that from the beginning, different sectors had raised the need to develop the evaluation in a phased manner by regions to avoid technological and logistical problems that, he said, ended up causing delays, confusion, and anxiety among teachers. Espinal also pointed out that the difficulties continued during stage six due to the resignation of several peer reviewers, a situation that forced a reorganization of the schedule established by the MINERD.

He also indicated that distortions occurred in the formation of the evaluation teams, citing cases in which counselors were assigned to evaluate teachers at the initial level, despite the fact that the evaluation peers should have belonged to the same professional profile. As part of her observations, the leader presented experiences recorded at the Duarte Educational Center, an institution she has directed for 22 years, where she assured she had verified several of the inconsistencies reported.

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However, Espinal clarified that both the Fuerza Magisterial and Fuerza del Pueblo currents support the implementation of the Teacher Performance Evaluation, considering it a necessary tool to identify and correct flaws in the national education system. "Although we, the teachers, are the ones being evaluated, the Dominican education system is being evaluated in one way or another," he said. In that sense, he maintained that once the process concludes, scheduled for August, it will be necessary to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the mechanism implemented by the Ministry of Education and be accountable to both the teaching staff and the citizenry.

Finally, Espinal warned that the Fuerza Magisterial current will remain vigilant against any irregularities detected during the development of the teacher evaluation in the different demarcations of the country. "We, as a movement, will have to keep a close watch on every situation that arises in our jurisdiction, because after the process is over, we will have to take action," he stated.