Education rejects “unjustified” strikes by teachers carried out by the ADP

Santo Domingo.- The Ministry of Education rejected this Wednesday the “unjustified” strikes of teaching called by the Dominican Association of Teachers (ADP) in some provinces of the country, stating that this paralysis undermines the fulfillment of the school calendar and violates the fundamental right to education of thousands of students. The institution noted that the arbitrary interruption of teaching in these provinces directly affects the teaching-learning process and jeopardizes the academic objectives established for the current academic year.

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The portfolio highlighted that the Mesa de los Cinco Pilares has been formed, a multi-sectoral concertation space that functions as an institutionalized mechanism for dialogue, consultation, monitoring, and concertation of public policies in the pre-university system. This space is the key vehicle to enhance system improvements and provide solutions to any requirement. The institution indicated that, through the Roundtable, which is made up of teachers who are representatives of the teaching unions, students, families, public servants and representatives of civil society, a protocol is being promoted with a view to guaranteeing strict compliance with the school calendar and preventing undue interruptions. The Ministry recalled that last year the teachers of the Eligible Registry had the opportunity to opt for one of the vacant positions in their demarcations, by taking advantage of a platform provided by the institution to guarantee teachers where they were needed in this current school year through a transparent and participatory process. Likewise, the education portfolio affirmed that it remains pending the requirements put forward by the ADP while reiterating its willingness to dialogue with this union. It emphasized that it continues to offer timely and responsible responses to guarantee optimal conditions in the development of the educational process throughout the national territory. However, the institution warned that unjustified teaching stoppages undermine the Educational Pact and the goals set by the Government to achieve substantial improvements in the pre-university education system, especially in the early years of schooling and in technical-professional education, considered strategic pillars for national development. The Dominican Association of Teachers (ADP) began protests today demanding structural improvements and responses that, it assures, the Ministry of Education has been pending for years. Teachers from Santiago held a picket in front of the Regional Education Directorate to demand the intervention of paralyzed schools, centers without perimeter fences, and the appointment of teachers who, despite having passed the opposition contest, have not yet been appointed. The union announced that the strikes will continue tomorrow in the provinces of Duarte and Hermanas Mirabal.