MINERD Promotes Decentralization to Achieve Higher Quality in Education

MINERD Promotes Decentralization to Achieve Higher Quality in Education
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, 2/9/2012

Ministry of Education of the Dominican Republic (MINERD) is promoting the resumption of a decentralization processes with the purpose of achieving, along with the system’s key stakeholders, higher quality in education that will respond to the requirements of today’s world and create a more favorable atmosphere in which students will be able to fully develop as global citizens.

That is what Lic. Josefina Pimentel, Minister of Education, expressed during her keynote speech at the opening of the workshop “Resuming the Decentralization Process to Achieve Higher Quality in Education”, which took place at the Hamaca Hotel, in Boca Chica.

That is what Lic. Josefina Pimentel, Minister of Education, expressed during her keynote speech at the opening of the workshop “Resuming the Decentralization Process to Achieve Higher Quality in Education”, which took place at the Hamaca Hotel, in Boca Chica.

The workshop was organized by MINERD and by the National Council for StateReform(ConsejoNacional de Reforma del Estado – CONARE), through the department responsible for Decentralization Authorities and Decentralization Agencies, with the purpose of reflecting on itsassessment and perspectives in the field of education in the short-term, medium-term, and long-term.

“The process of making the key stakeholders assume their responsibilities happens,essentially,as a result of including their participation as a solid strategy that should also have an impact on the creation of quality in education,” said the Minister of Education.

By way of example, Pimentel mentioned that two weeksagoMINERD opened the School of Directors. It is an initiative based on the conviction that speaking about educational quality implies that the system should include highly educated and competent leaders and school directors that are motivated, interested and engaged.

“We are promoting decentralization in order to developfunctions that generate quality processes at every point along the educational system’s implementation efforts. Its purpose or ‘raison d’être’ resides in the development of astrong community involvement,” she indicated.

During the workshops’ opening ceremony, CONARE’sDirector, Dr. Marcos Villamán, delivered his keynote speech on the theme of Decentralization,participation and quality in education. In it hearguedthat decentralizationin education is created through cultural change,that is to say, moving from a centralist mindset to one that is participatory. “Participation is the main component of decentralization,” Dr. Villamán argued.

Dr. Villamán understands that an autonomous and decentralized education system is one that has more capacity for imparting quality education and for building democracy and citizenship, especially at a time when human beings are searching for meaning when it comes to their life experience. The vice-minister responsible for the Decentralization Agencies, Alexis Fradera, delivered a welcome speech and explained that several guest speakerswere participating in the event, including experts in education and educationaldecentralization, representatives from the 18 Regional Education Offices and the 104 Educational Districts, as well as from the School Boards from throughout the country, other decentralized institutions, and from several MINERD departments.

He said that the event also included three panels: the first, on Evolution, Assessment, and Perspective of Decentralization in the short-term, medium-term, and long-term; the second will address an Educational Decentralization Model; and the third will examine the Purpose of Decentralization.

Vice-Minister Fradera explained that the participants will split up into twelve 13-member work groups, each of which will discuss a different issue. Their task will be to offer recommendations for the different areas which will result in a definitive push for decentralization in the country, and the redefinition of the desired model.

In addition, he emphasized that 2011 was a very important year for decentralization in education,since various individuals and institutions worked assiduously to ensure its resumption, convinced that it is a strategy that requires community participation, which is vital for the present and future of the Dominican education system.

This is the reason, he explained, for recognizing the importance that decentralization has and why the necessary measures have been taken to continue including key stakeholders, both internal and external to the system, in solving educational problems, through the formation and training of the Decentralization Boards. He added that in order for the process to achieve greater effectiveness, some provisions need to be corrected, which is one of the objectives of the workshop.

In addition, the following Vice-Ministers from MINERDparticipated in the event: Lic. GisselFeliz, Administrator; Engineer Víctor Sánchez, In-charge of the Urban Planning Office;Lic.Gisela Romero;Lic.Dorotea Guerrero, Director General of Education Management and Decentralization;and Víctor Hugo Deláncer, Vice-Minister of Higher Education, among others.

The Minister of Education, Lic. Josefina Pimentel,offered the main keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the workshop. Standing behind the table, from left to right, are RadhamésCepeda, representative for the ADP President; Vice-Ministers GisselFeliz and Alexis Fradera; Dr. Marcos Villamán, Director of CONARE;Lic. Dorotea Guerrero, Director of MINERD’s Education Management and Decentralization; and the Vice-Minister of Higher Education, Víctor Hugo Deláncer.