The Ministry of Education Invests More than $360 Million Dollars in Education Programs

The Ministry of Education Invests More than $360 Million Dollars in Education Programs
Dominican Republic, Santo Domingo, 16/05/2011

The Ministry of Education (MINERD in Spanish), through the Office of International Cooperation (OCI), is developing joint programs and projects to improve the quality of teaching and learning. They intend to invest more than $360 million dollars to achieve this goal.

The objective is to contribute to the quality of the education through improving access at those levels, by procuring adequate space for teaching and learning to take place.

The money is coming from donations, international financing organizations and Government matching funds. The Ministry of Education intends to build and rehabilitate educational centers, purchase equipment, hire teachers, provide technical training and strengthen other programs.

The work is part of the Strengthening of Early Education programs, the Multi-phased Program for Equality of Basic Education, the Youth Development Program, the Non-Refundable Technical Assistance Program, Closing Gaps and the Support Program for the Ten-Year Education Project 1,000 x 1,000 and Toward Effective Schools Plan. 

Within the Strengthening of Early Education programs, they are expecting to build 258 classrooms and Model Centers in each of the 18 Regional Offices. They will also hire teachers, buy equipment for 3,568 classrooms and provide funds to another 330 primary school classrooms for the installation of the Technology Corner, according to the Office of Communication and Public Relations of the Ministry.

In addition, they will earmark money to rehabilitate 425 classrooms in the Centers for Basic Education, which will ultimately provide adequate space for 23,700 students at this primary school level.

MINERD is advancing the Support Program to the Educational Sector Policy within the National Indicative Program of the 9th European Development Fund (EDF) of the European Union which is proposing to give the school system some 79 classrooms for Basic and Medium grade levels.

The objective is to contribute to the quality of the education through improving access at those levels, by procuring adequate space for teaching and learning to take place.

In addition, the construction and equipping of polytechnic schools is expected to take place in the provinces of Bahoruco, Samaná, Monte Plata, San Cristóbal and San Francisco de Macorís, within the National Program for Professional Technical Training, with the idea of facilitating an adequate education that meets international demands and standards. The financing for this is from the Spanish government.

Likewise, with financing from the Spanish government and within the  PIM-APRENDE Project 242, solar panels will be installed in the public school centers in Santo Domingo, Santiago, La Vega, San Cristóbal, Monte Plata, Santiago Rodríguez, San José de Ocoa and Peravia.

The Strengthening of Early Education and Multi-phased Program for Equality of Basic Education projects are in their final phase and are being financed by the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), respectively.

The first project has a budget of $62 million dollars ($42 million of which is financed and $20 million is a matching contribution from the government). This money will be put to use in the enlarging of pre-primary coverage with construction and donation of furniture and a general improvement in the quality of the buildings.
The latter component is being developed through two programs, one is the Training for the Action and Application for Curriculum, which implies attention on a pedagogic focus, remodeling of the classrooms and strengthening of family participation. The other is the Institutional Strengthening proposed to reinforce the definition of development strategies in Early Education. The physical work of this project is 92.25% finished. 

Meanwhile, Multi-phased Program for Equality of Basic Education projects, whose total investment is $80 million dollars, seeks to achieve equality by fomenting initiatives to be developed by the Educational Development Plan.

Another program being carried out in coordination with the OCI is the Youth Development plan being done jointly with the Ministry of Labor which will provide workers. This project’s budget is $7,500,000, financed by the World Bank with an additional matching contribution of $2,500,000.
One of the components being suggested is to increase the Second Chance ABE (Adult Basic Education) program in order to respond to the large number of young adults who quit school and now would like to return.

The Non-Refundable Technical Assistance Program is being undertaken with a donation of $317,500 from the IDB and a matching contribution of $70,000 from the government. Its objective is to contribute to improving the quality of Basic Education.

Meanwhile, the Closing Gaps program (DPL 2) – Social Sectors Program Development Policy Loan (DPL), is being done with an investment of $150 million from the World Bank with the goal of preserving and carrying out activities in the area of health and education among the poor sectors of society.

In terms of the Support Program for the Ten-Year Education Project 1,000 x 1,000 and Toward Effective Schools, there is a $60 million investment earmarked for that. Fifty million is provided by the IDB and $10 million by  matching government contributions.

The objectives are to improve the performance and effectiveness of the Basic and Middle schools in which the student population exceeds 500 pupils. It also seeks to increase effective class hours, strengthen learning in the first cycle of Basic school in the areas of language and math and to decrease class sizes.