The Minister for Education, Octavia Alfred, has announced that the government spent $22 million in 2020 to advance educational empowerment and that the sum of $23 million is targeted to be spent on scholarships this year. The honourable minister said education remains the core focus of the government and that the DLP administration wants to have at least one university graduate in every Dominican family.
To this end, the government is targeting to reconstruct 14 schools that suffered damage during the last hurricane and tropical storms. Some of these schools will be reconstructed with help from the government of China and others with the assistance of the government of Canada while others will be done with CBI funds.
Some of the schools to be reconstructed include –
- Goodwill Secondary School
- Bellevue Chopin Primary
- Sineku Primary
- Thibaud Primary
- Calibishie Primary
- Tete Morne Primary School, etc.
These schools will be standard learning facilities for students and teachers where the educational environment will be comfortable and conducive for everyone. The schools will have several units for early childhood development, administrative offices, counselling rooms, healthcare sections, washrooms, kitchen and cafetaria, ICT rooms, library, stores, and printing rooms among others. The schools will also have perimeter fencing, wheelchair access, Wi-Fi-enabled classrooms, handwashing stations, charging ports, and multipurpose halls among others.
Alfred said the reconstruction design is being done by a Chinese firm and that the final design plans will be submitted to the government for review and approval. She said the firm will also submit their work plans and timelines for completion of the projects and these must be ratified by the government before work commences on respective sites.
“The ministry of education is making every effort to modernize every aspect of education to meet the rapidly changing needs and to face the rapid climate change,” the minister said.
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