Magisterial Current rejects merger between the MINERD and the MESCyT

Santo Domingo.- The Juan Pablo Duarte Magisterial Current declared today that it is inappropriate to allocate resources from public schools to finance universities with 4% of the GDP and warned that the proposed merger of the Ministries of Education and Higher Education will deepen the deterioration of the national education system. He pointed out that more than 20 billion pesos that should go towards improving pre-university education with plans for the construction of classrooms, laboratories, technology, modernization, teacher training and updating, effective socio-educational policies and the development of appropriate and timely teaching resources could be diverted to higher education under the new scheme. He rejected the intention to eliminate the National Education Council and the National Council of Higher Education, as contemplated in the merger project. According to the leader, this measure goes against the democratic spirit that governs Dominican education because it curtails the participation of the different actors in educational decision-making. He affirmed that replacing the councils as the highest governing body with a consultative mechanism liquidates the counterweight they represent and transfers the function of legislation, leadership, and oversight to the Minister of Education. In this way, a single official would define policies, plans, budgets, regulations, and also their implementation and direction of public educational services.

You may be interested in: Magisterial Current rejects use of national territory

He emphasized that the right thing to do is to transform and strengthen the National Education Council, not destroy it. The total concentration of power, he warned, is highly dangerous in a sensitive sector due to its formative mission and because it manages public resources of great magnitude. In their opinion, the MINERD–MESCyT merger constitutes a setback to democracy that does not reduce expenses, does not make educational management more efficient, nor does it improve learning. On the contrary, they argued that it complicates the management of MINERD by incorporating higher education within the same structure, which will deepen the deterioration of the educational system. Finally, Professors Menegildo De La Rosa and Rafael Feliz, leaders of the Corriente Magisterial Juan Pablo Duarte and of the ADP requested the President of the Republic to withdraw the merger bill and enable a space for dialogue to build consensus on the perspective of education.