Minister of Education Speaks in Panama about the Educational Challenge Plan 2021

Minister of Education Speaks in Panama about the Educational Challenge Plan 2021
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic 1/24/2013

Minister of Education, Josefina Pimentel, recently participatedin the XXIII Inter-American Catholic Education Congress held in Panama where she stressed that the Dominican context presents numerous opportunities to achieve the objectives proposed at the Ibero-American Educational Challenge Plan 2021.

“In the Dominican Republic we have the will and the unwavering support from the central government, presided over by President Danilo Medina, …

At the Congress, held from January 15 through 17, Minister Pimentel said that the situation is favorable despite the enormous challenges facing the country in such areas as equity and educational quality. She touched on the topic of exposing the initiatives promoted by the Dominican Republic to achieve the Educational Challenges 2021.

“In the Dominican Republic we have the will and the unwavering support from the central government, presided over by President Danilo Medina, who has already made this clear by substantially increasing the education budget to 4% of the GDP, just at a time when the world economy is at a critical moment and cuts to education in many countries of the world are being made,” said Minister Pimentel.

She said plans promoted by the Presidency of the Republic, such as “QuisqueyaGrows with You,” directed at comprehensive attention to young children; “QuisqueyaLearns with You,” involving literacy programs for youth and adults and the “QuisqueyaWithout Poverty,” which is designed to improve the quality of life for all Dominicans are all examples of how political leadership has promoted a broad consensus around educational issues.

She added that, without a doubt, its implementation will contribute to the impact of the indicators proposed in the Educational Challenges 2021, agreed upon at the Heads of States and Governments Summit of the signatory countries of the Organization of Ibero-American States (OEI) held in 2010 in Mar del Plata, Argentina.

These are just the national goals aimed at overcoming delays in education, she noted, and enabling more students to participate and achieve quality learning from an ethical, equitable and inclusive perspective.

Ms. Pimentel pointed out that following the approval of theIbero-American Educational Challenge Plan 2021 and the National Strategy for Development, the Dominica Republic has promoted initiatives, programs, projects and actions aimed at achieving the proposed goals.

Speaking about initiatives being developed by the Ministry of Education (MINERD in Spanish), she said they have made it a priority to create alliances and generate processes of sharing responsibility with the social and political players who are involved in the education system. “We have called this line of action Social Dialogue,” explained the Education Minister.

In addition, they are strengthening the Parents and Friends of the Schools Associations, taking into account that working closely with families in the education of their children is fundamental to encourage their retention in the school system.

As an example of such actions, she points to the implementation of a support policy for learning the basics of Reading, Writing and Math in primary grades, in alliance with private entities, non-governmental and international organizations (OEI), the creation of Consultative Roundtables for Early Education comprised of entities that pay comprehensive attention to the five and under sector in children’s education.

In addition, they are strengthening the Parents and Friends of the Schools Associations, taking into account that working closely with families in the education of their children is fundamental to encourage their retention in the school system.

They are also prioritizing the involvement of local governments in educational activities through cooperation and partnerships that have made possible the donation of community spaces for the education of children under 5, educational and technological resources and reading, art and sports promotion in the communities.

The 11 goals that were approved in the Ibero-American Educational Challenge Plan 2021 are: Strengthen and expand the participation of society in educational activities; achieve educational equality and overcome all forms of discrimination in education; increase the supply of early education; universalize primary and secondary education; increase access to senior high school or college prep; improve the general quality of education and the school curriculum.

It also seeks to encourage the connection between education and employment through professional technical education; offer ongoing continuing educational opportunities; strengthen the teaching profession; expand knowledge throughout Latin America; strengthen scientific research; invest more and better and evaluate the performance of the education systems and the Educational Goals 2021 project.


Education Minister Josefina Pimentel, center, with other participants at the Congress in Panama.