Dominican Republic

Administrative Structure: Apart from CONES, the supervisory board that oversees the entire system, the administrative system is comprised of the Secretariat, headed by the Secretary of Education, a position that is decidedly political. The auditing, insurance, international and public relations, judicial concerns, and project implementation departments all rely on the Secretariat. The subsecretariats of Education, Administration, and Culture form a second administrative level, with its regional and subregional offices forming the educational framework. The regional system is broken down into regional directives and subdivided into districts. The districts themselves are comprised of the individual schools.

The director of each district, apart from three consultants—one external, one internal, and a computer systems expert—has a staff divided into three sections: academic, special services, and operations. Each separate staff is comprised of eight individuals in charge of specific areas of focus, for example, the math coordinator or the national coordinator.

Each district has an administrative board and an internal consultant. Beyond this, the district has a staff of five, one each in charge of national exams, community participation, physical education, supervision, and administrative support. Each district also has direct control of the individual schools.

Each school director has a Board of Regents, a Parent-Teachers Association, a Student Association, and two consultants to which to respond. Under his control is a staff of eight, one each in charge of registration, health and nutrition, medical aid, social work, student services, curriculum development, maintenance, and administrative assistance. Each director also has direct control of the teachers and students.

The highly participatory educational reform process of the Plan Decenal was not able to effect much change in the persistently centralized and slow decision-making mechanisms of the Secretary of Education. Neither national consensus nor the formulation of new legal rules have been able to substantially change the patterns of interaction among the actors in education.

Expenditures: Dominican educational reform has been financed by money from international organizations and the legal provision requiring that a percentage of the national budget be devoted to education. Although the full amount was not appropriated in the first years of the plan, appropriations by 1998 neared the required percentage of 16 percent. By contrast, annual per capita expenditures on education from 1987 to 1990, adjusted for inflation, were just 40 percent of the total expenditures in 1980.

The needs for financing the Plan Decenal were laid out for investors and contributors following meetings held in early 1993. The plan was to be developed in three phases: a four-year emergency program to jumpstart the improvement of primary schools, a consolidation program to evaluate gains and "consolidate" achievement of objectives, and a support program to fund administration and infrastructure.

Projected costs of these programs for 1993 alone were US$244.8 million, of which only 15 percent would be covered by foreign aid. It was believed that if the government lived up to its funding commitments and could maintain a gross national product (GNP) increase of 3.5 percent, the plan would be effectively funded. The General Law of Education 66/97, which mandates that 16 percent of the national budget be paid into the educational system, also requires the equivalent of 4 percent of the GNP.

Other provisions of Chapter 1, Title 9, call for 80 percent of the budget be dedicated to operating costs and less than 20 percent to capital expenses. Tax-deduction incentives for private business funding nonprofit education, research, or technical innovation endeavors can be applied for up to 5 percent, and educational materials are exempt from customs duties. Funds generated from the confiscation of unclaimed inheritances, 5 percent of inheritance taxes, 5 percent of any property sold by the state, 20 percent of unclaimed bank accounts, and all sale of property confiscated by police due to criminal activity are also earmarked for the National Fund for Educational Development. Apart from direct mandated financing from the national government, local schools and school districts can further depend on support supplied by the Parents and Friends Associations and patronage by private businesses.

In the 1998 fiscal year, the amount of funds budgeted for education represented 15.51 percent of the total budget. Given the growing state of the Dominican economy, increasing resources are becoming available. More importantly, the gap between the mandated rate of money earmarked for education and the amount spent in actuality is slowly narrowing. Between 1993 and 1996, for example, only 66 percent was paid into education, compared to 90 percent corresponding to 1998. Of the total educational budget of 1998, approximately 48 percent went to basic education, 813.4 million of which went into construction and infrastructure improvements. Of the personnel budget, approximately 66 percent went to payment of teachers, almost 24 percent went to administrative technicians, and about 9 percent went to management.