Santo Domingo.– The Dominican Association of Teachers (ADP) rejected this Wednesday the conclusions of the report titled Monitor of the Economic Impact of the Suspension of Classes, prepared by Business Action for Education (EDUCA), considering that it presents methodological inconsistencies, decontextualized data, and a biased view regarding the causes affecting the national educational system.
Through a statement, the National Executive Committee (CEN) of the ADP maintained that the document attempts to hold teachers exclusively responsible for interruptions in teaching, without taking into account the structural deficiencies that, according to the union, directly affect the development of the educational process.
The organization expressed concern over the fact that private entities are assuming an evaluation role in public education without, in their view, having the technical or institutional endorsement of the Ministry of Education (MINERD), the body responsible for overseeing compliance with the school calendar.
Among the main criticisms, the ADP pointed out that the report starts from a flawed premise by stating that 1,384 teaching hours were lost during the 2025-2026 school year.
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As the union explained, the official school calendar approved by the National Council of Education establishes a total of 1,528 teaching hours distributed over 191 days for the Initial and Secondary levels, including the Technical Professional, Arts, and Centers of Excellence modalities.
“The figures presented require an explanation that allows for validating whether only 144 hours of classes were actually taught before drawing conclusions of national scope,” the entity indicated.
Likewise, the ADP rejected the claim that 55 suspension calls affected the 7,921 public and semi-official educational centers in the country.
The union recalled that the National Executive Committee has not called for a national teaching strike in over three years and asserted that the protests recorded in various locations have been in response to specific demands related to infrastructure problems, a lack of classrooms, security conditions, and extraordinary situations.
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Among those cases, he cited the poisonings of students and teachers caused by agricultural fumigations in San Francisco de Macorís, as well as lawsuits registered in provinces and municipalities such as Duarte, Santiago, Azua, San Juan, Haina, Tamayo, and Boca Chica.
The ADP maintained that reducing these actions to simple economic losses ignores that many of them seek precisely to guarantee adequate conditions for learning.
The union also questioned the moral authority of EDUCA and other organizations linked to the education sector to issue assessments on the public system, arguing that they receive resources from the Dominican State.
According to data cited by the ADP, EDUCA reportedly received RD$67,078,539.93 over the last five years through training programs funded by the National Institute for Teacher Training and Development (INAFOCAM), while Fe y Alegría reportedly received RD$12,037,375.00 in subsidies.
Overall, both entities would have received more than RD$79 million in public funds.
The guild stated that, taking as a reference the construction costs of classrooms reported by the Directorate of School Infrastructure, those resources would be equivalent to the construction of between 11 and 15 new classrooms for the national education system.
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“It is contradictory that organizations benefiting from resources coming from the 4% of GDP allocated to education attempt to present teachers as the sole parties responsible for alleged economic losses, while remaining silent regarding problems such as the classroom deficit, student overcrowding, and the deterioration of school facilities,” stated the National Executive Committee.
The ADP reiterated that the priority must focus on guaranteeing safe, dignified, and adequate schools for students and teachers, as well as strengthening public investment in education based on criteria of efficiency, transparency, and equity.
Finally, the organization reaffirmed its commitment to the defense of public education, compliance with the school calendar, and the pursuit of better conditions for the teaching and learning process throughout the country.
