This is from the lecture that Jack attended on Nov 10, 2010 in Santo domingo. The speaker, Mr. George Santoni Reynoso is the parent of a Gr. 6 student.
Demands for more funds for educationThe president of the Action for Basic Education (Educa), lawyer George Santoni Reynoso has called on the government to reduce the pace of construction of the second line of the Metro so that this money can be spent on public education. He said that three classrooms could be built for the cost of a SUV purchased by a government official. "It is difficult to justify investments in a mega project when there is no money for education. The investment in the Metro has never had legal support, nor does it have any justification in terms of its returns to society," he said.
He recalled that for 2010, the DR has placed 39 in 139 countries in the World Economic Forum ranking, and 133rd in university education. He said there is a deficit of more than 9,000 classrooms and others that require high maintenance because they are used by three shifts of students.
He made his comments during the American Chamber of Commerce monthly luncheon meeting and criticized the poor quality and neglect of the public educational system. There is a national movement demanding that legislators increase the government allocation to education in the National Budget under study in Congress. A 10-Year Education Plan calls for the construction of 9,711 classrooms and the renovation of 12,572 classrooms at a cost of US$1.6 billion, plus the hiring of 58,687 public school teachers. Santoni said the short-term mentality of Dominican Presidents has not given priority to education. He said that the increase in corruption, crime, teenage pregnancy, drug trafficking, chaos in ground transport and institutional deterioration could be linked to low government investment in public education. Hundreds of people are demonstrating.
Education is priority, says who? From El Dia on ?
Despite all the inspiring rhetoric from President Leonel Fernandez, especially when it comes to the importance of education for development, hard facts presented yesterday by the United Nations Development Program in their 2010 Human Development Report indicate the DR is going backwards, as reported in El Dia. The UNDP reports that the DR has advanced less in education and health than the Latin American average, despite GDP being on the rise. The DR is in 88th of 169 countries in the UNDP Human Development Index.
Miguel Ceara Hatton, coordinator of the UNDP office in the DR says the DR has advanced less than other countries that have had fewer resources. He mentioned that life expectancy at birth for Dominicans is 72.8 years, compared to the Latin American and Caribbean average of 74. In the category of years spent in education, Dominicans appear with 11.9 years compared to the Latin American average of 13.7 years. In average years in primary education, the DR has 6.9 compared to the Latin American average of 7.9. Ceara said that the DR has declined 13 levels in the education ranking since 1990.He said that the Gross Domestic Product per capita had increased to US$8,273, compared to the Latin American average of US$10,642.
The UNDP coordinator said the report shows that the country is 24th of 169 countries that take the least advantage of their wealth to improve health and education. Social inequity in the DR the country is ranked 39th of 139 of the countries that have lost the most opportunities for improving social inequity. The report shows that the human development index advances of the DR are the same as the country had 20 years ago, compared to the rest of the world. The ranking of the country in health and education is the same as the country has had in the past 25 years.
See: www.pnud.org.do
Demands for more funds for educationThe president of the Action for Basic Education (Educa), lawyer George Santoni Reynoso has called on the government to reduce the pace of construction of the second line of the Metro so that this money can be spent on public education. He said that three classrooms could be built for the cost of a SUV purchased by a government official. "It is difficult to justify investments in a mega project when there is no money for education. The investment in the Metro has never had legal support, nor does it have any justification in terms of its returns to society," he said.
He recalled that for 2010, the DR has placed 39 in 139 countries in the World Economic Forum ranking, and 133rd in university education. He said there is a deficit of more than 9,000 classrooms and others that require high maintenance because they are used by three shifts of students.
He made his comments during the American Chamber of Commerce monthly luncheon meeting and criticized the poor quality and neglect of the public educational system. There is a national movement demanding that legislators increase the government allocation to education in the National Budget under study in Congress. A 10-Year Education Plan calls for the construction of 9,711 classrooms and the renovation of 12,572 classrooms at a cost of US$1.6 billion, plus the hiring of 58,687 public school teachers. Santoni said the short-term mentality of Dominican Presidents has not given priority to education. He said that the increase in corruption, crime, teenage pregnancy, drug trafficking, chaos in ground transport and institutional deterioration could be linked to low government investment in public education. Hundreds of people are demonstrating.
Education is priority, says who? From El Dia on ?
Despite all the inspiring rhetoric from President Leonel Fernandez, especially when it comes to the importance of education for development, hard facts presented yesterday by the United Nations Development Program in their 2010 Human Development Report indicate the DR is going backwards, as reported in El Dia. The UNDP reports that the DR has advanced less in education and health than the Latin American average, despite GDP being on the rise. The DR is in 88th of 169 countries in the UNDP Human Development Index.
Miguel Ceara Hatton, coordinator of the UNDP office in the DR says the DR has advanced less than other countries that have had fewer resources. He mentioned that life expectancy at birth for Dominicans is 72.8 years, compared to the Latin American and Caribbean average of 74. In the category of years spent in education, Dominicans appear with 11.9 years compared to the Latin American average of 13.7 years. In average years in primary education, the DR has 6.9 compared to the Latin American average of 7.9. Ceara said that the DR has declined 13 levels in the education ranking since 1990.He said that the Gross Domestic Product per capita had increased to US$8,273, compared to the Latin American average of US$10,642.
The UNDP coordinator said the report shows that the country is 24th of 169 countries that take the least advantage of their wealth to improve health and education. Social inequity in the DR the country is ranked 39th of 139 of the countries that have lost the most opportunities for improving social inequity. The report shows that the human development index advances of the DR are the same as the country had 20 years ago, compared to the rest of the world. The ranking of the country in health and education is the same as the country has had in the past 25 years.
See: www.pnud.org.do
