Ministry of Education Promotes Alliances to Consolidate More Efficient and Modern Management

Ministry of Education Promotes Alliances to Consolidate More Efficient and Modern Management
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic 8/1/2012

More than 60 companies are currently sponsoring 600 schools.

“We need the contribution of private investment, from international organizations, civil society and from the State, in the end, from all of society, which should play a major role in the advancement and corrections the Dominican education system requires, …

The Ministry of Education (MINERD in Spanish) is promoting the idea of joint management and decentralization of education as a way of broadening the participation and involvement in the system to reach a larger variety of actors in the national educational system in order to consolidate administrative work and modernize the pedagogical aspects of teaching while making the system more efficient.

Deputy Minister of Technical and Pedagogical Services, Minerva Vincent, spoke these words at the opening of the “Social Dialogue Forum: Exchange of Ideas between the State and Civil Society,” held with the participation of non-governmental organizations, regional and district experts, civil society institutions and communities organizations linked to the schools.

“We need the contribution of private investment, from international organizations, civil society and from the State, in the end, from all of society, which should play a major role in the advancement and corrections the Dominican education system requires,” said the Deputy Minister. She stressed that alliances with the private sector render excellent results and cited that currently there are more than 60 private institutions participating in the Education Ministry’s School Sponsorship Program (PRAEL in Spanish). These institutions have sponsorship agreements signed with around 600 schools, impacting some 6,000 teachers and more than 200,000 students.

In the same way, through the 5,634 Parent, Teacher and Friends of the Schools Associations (APMAES in Spanish) around the country and the 150 Associations of Non-Profits, they have consolidated their community involvement in the administration of schools.

“Today we have some 51 million pesos to be distributed within the Program for the Distribution of Funds for the Association of Non-Profits,” said Ms. Vincent who noted that instructions from the Education Minister Josefina Pimentel, have initiated a process of redefining the relationshipbetween MINERDand other actors on the national scene with the objective of overcoming the hand-out mentality and, in the short term, viewing the alliances as an explicit expression of will and commitment to society with the goal of promoting development and well-being through education.

The “Social Dialogue Forum: Exchange of Ideas between the State and Civil Society,” was organized by the Deputy Minister of Technical and Pedagogical Services through the Office of Community Participation. The Forum’s goals include disseminating MINERD’s five relevant lines of social dialogue. In addition, to encourage dialogue on the education system’s priority and function of civil society organizations as interlocutors on the need for community and social education and to identify opportunities and potentialities that the private sector can contribute.

Thematic panel

The forum included six keynote speeches given by experts, professionals and researchers with backgrounds in development of social and educational processes. There were also six informational tables open for discussion.

Those who gave keynote speeches were Aida Consuelo Hernández, representative of Educa, who spoke on the participation of the business. Rosa Mena, Director of Community Participation, spoke about the Relationship between School and Community and other participating organizations. She also discussed the State and Civil Society Relationship.

Addys Then andYris Rossi, consultants, talked about Educational Policies, the Mechanics of Cooperation and Alliance. Dr. Marcos Villamán, Director of theNational Commission for the Reform of the State (CONARE in Spanish), talked about Social Policies.

The Director of Community Participation gave the words of welcome. At the end of the event, certificates were given to various non-profit organizations.

Deputy Minister of Education, Minerva Vincent, speaking at the “Social Dialogue Forum: Exchange of Ideas between the State and Civil Society.”Others sitting at the directors’ table, from left to right, are Luisa Mateo Dicló, Yris Rossi and Rosa Mena, Directorof Community Participation of the Ministry of Education