School Set to Open Next Week with Nearly Three Million Students

School Set to Open Next Week with Nearly Three Million Students
Dominican Republic, 08/12/2010

A total 2,876,000 students are getting ready to start school next Tuesday, August 17, at more than 99% of the country´s classrooms. In an event held in the Las Caobas School in Santo Domingo West, Education Minister, Melanie Paredes affirmed that students will be received into “clean, painted, beautiful and functional classrooms due to the fact that the ministry has intervened in some 25,000 classrooms around the country over a period of 17 months.”

The Minister of Education reiterated that the ministry must rise to the challenge and meet the demands and provide quality services for its students.

The information, in a press release, was disseminated by an official from the Presidential Office of Information, Press and Publicity of Santiago.

Ms. Paredes assured that the Ministry will take care of all problems that may arise before or after the school year begins. In terms of school breakfast, supported by the United Nations, she said the details of the program will be announced on Tuesday.

NEW TOOLS IN THE SCHOOL

Paredes said that 65,000 teachers participated on Monday in a one-day instructional introduction to new tools that will make the difference in the traditional practices in Dominican schools.

“Next Thursday we will launch our multimedia site that will represent a revolution in education in the Dominican Republic and, as I said, we still have schools from the 19th century that we are rescuing but this is not an obstacle for us to push our teachers and educational systems into the 21st century with a generation of young people, children and adolescents who demand quality service in a century that represents serious challenges,” said Ms. Paredes.

The Minister of Education reiterated that the ministry must rise to the challenge and meet the demands and provide quality services for its students.

She announced that this month, August, some 12,000 new teachers will benefit from the salary incentives for work and for years of service.

“With this we are saying to the teachers that we trust in you, we will work for you because we totally trust in your work, your vocation and in your commitment to the Dominican education system,” said Paredes.