Minister Proposes Working Jointly with ADP to Improve Quality of Education

Minister Proposes Working Jointly with ADP to Improve Quality of Education
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic,12/02/12

The Minister of Education, Josefina Pimentel, affirmed that she will continue to dialogue with the Dominican Teacher’s Association (ADP in Spanish) to seek solutions to problems affecting teachers, and expressed her willingness to work with the Association to improve the quality of education.

The Minister asked the ADP executives for a reasonable amount of time to make decisions related to the proposals presented, and explained that the MINERD has been working for some time to address these concerns.

During a meeting with the ADP’s Executive Committee, Pimentel affirmed that this dialogue is needed to strengthen educational policies and respond to the needs of teachers, so that they feel more motivated and committed to successful outcomes.

At the meeting, ADP president Eduardo Hidalgo, speaking on behalf of the Association, outlined the issues that—in his judgment—the Ministry of Education (MINERD) should be prioritizing, such as performance evaluations and the review of salary levels according to teachingshifts.  He also indicated that selection processes need to be fairer, recognizing the amount of years each teacher has spent in the classroom and placing the selection process in the hands of School Districts.

In addition, he proposed the creation of a mechanism through which incentives and degree qualifications would be automatically applied, and a return to the spirit of the agreement reached on teaching shifts. He also proposed reviewing the departmental guidelines related to teacher profiles.

The Minister asked the ADP executives for a reasonable amount of time to make decisions related to the proposals presented, and explained that the MINERD has been working for some time to address these concerns.

In addition, she urged the ADP to join the commissions that are analyzing the quality of teaching, and the work groups created recently as part of the Quality Education Initiative (IDEC in Spanish), with the objective of assisting and concretizing strategic aspects in the process of transforming the Dominican educational system.

Minerva Vincent, the ViceMinister responsible for Technical and Pedagogic Services, invited the ADP representatives to collaborate with these processes by joining the curricular review and continuing education processes.
In addition, she urged them to participate in the tasks of the commission that is coordinating technical and pedagogic affairs, to help improve student learning and the role of teachers.

Other participants in the meeting, on behalf of MINERD, included Vice Minister Víctor Sánchez, General Director of Planning; Dr. Julio Valeirón, Executive Director of the Dominican Institute for Evaluating the Quality of Education (IDEICE); Maritza Rossi, Director of the National Institute for Teacher Welfare (INABIMA); Professor Eulalia Sánchez, Assistant Director of Human Resources; Rosa María Jiménez, Director of Communications and Public Relations; and Giselle Féliz, Vice Minister of Administration.