People joined with enthusiasm the National Literacy Plan

People joined with enthusiasm the National Literacy Plan
Dominican Republic, Santo Domingo, January 11, 2013

Mercedes de los Angeles, a 56 year old housemaid living in Villa Mella, cannot read or write. She uses two crosses in place of her signature, and that makes her feel ashamed. So, in the “Quisqueya Aprende Contigo “National Literacy Plan, she sees an opportunity to overcome this problem, to continue studying and also to help her granddaughter with her school homework.

Meanwhile, Esperanza Vizcaíno Aracena, a homemaker, also of Villa Mella, welcomed the government’s initiative to bring literacy to adults, “because, even though one is an older person, it is never too late to learn, to achieve something, to acquire life-skills, with the little bit that one can learn.”

With great enthusiasm and an immense desire to learn, both Mercedes and other young people and adults from across the country participated in the first dayof operation of the activity, which took place in different learning centers of the “Quisqueya Aprende Contigo” National Literacy Plan, while continuing the process of training the trainer sand the opening of additional learning centers.

Marianela Bautista, 29, was one of those who attended the event on Tuesday, January 8, at a learning center located in the municipality of Santo Domingo Norte. “I never went to school due to my mom’s and my dad’s neglect. It is hard not to know the alphabet, to be called to sign something and to have to sign with two crosses; that is what has motivated me to come here,” she said when asked why she joined the plan.

Meanwhile, Esperanza Vizcaíno Aracena, a homemaker, also of Villa Mella, welcomed the government’s initiative to bring literacy to adults, “because, even though one is an older person, it is never too late to learn, to achieve something, to acquire life-skills, with the little bit that one can learn.”

On the first day of the Plan, the noble work of teaching to read and write to people who, like Marianela, Mercedes and Esperanza, perhaps had ruled that out as a possibility, started in a large number of learning centers, registering some 1,000just in the Santo Domingo Province.

MINERD’s Deputy Director of Education for Youth and Adults, Mr. Deolegario Tapia, said of in that district, the municipality of Santo Domingo has the largest number of centers because of the previous experience of literacy work that was carried out by Senator Cristina Lizardo, and that the same thing occurs in Los Alcarrizos.

He added that,in the province of Bahoruco, 183 learning centers have started operations and that in the Santo Domingo province so did about 1,000.

The Director of the Educational District 10-01 of Villa Mella, Mr. Felipe Salas Celedonio, reported that 80 centers are operatingsince last Monday, with 10 to 15 students each and that, in some cases,they have more than 20 students. He added that it is expected that, by the end of week,100 of the 134 centers that are projected in total will be in operation.

Schedule and Venues

The working hours of the learning centers vary since they are negotiated between the teacher and the students, MINERD’s Deputy Director of Education for Youth and Adults pointed out.

The same is true for the venues, which can be schools, churches, sports clubs and other facilities, as Mr. Tapia pointed out, and also clarified that the Municipal Boards of Literacy keep control over them and the records ofthe addresses, names and references.

“For example, they will determine in which venue they will meet, how many days per week and the number of hours per week. What has been established is that they must meet six hours per week. How and when is determined through negotiations between the parties” he added.

According to the plan, 6,054 literacy centers have been created and are distributed throughout the country, and there are 6,154 teachers, who are mostly college students or professionals from various fields.

Follow up

About the follow up that will be provided to the development of the process, Mr. Deolegario Tapia said that the Directorate General of Special Programs of the Presidency, led by Dr. Pedro Luis Castellanos, the Plan coordinator, has a unit for monitoring and information.

However, he announced that a unit with provincial and municipal coordinators is being created and that each learning center will have a facilitator with a particular profile and technical expertise, to accompany the educational processes.

The “Quisqueya Aprende Contigo” National Literacy Plan is an initiative of the government led by Danilo Medina, whose objective is to provide literacy to more than 800,000 people within two years.

Adults of all ages participated in the event.


Yesterday, the activity was intense in this learning group of the Educational District 10-01 in Villa Mella.