Dominican Republic - History & Background, Consititutional & Legal Foundations, Educational System—overview, Preprimary & Primary Education, Secondary Education
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| BASIC DATA |
| Official Country Name: |
Dominican Republic |
| Region: |
North & Central America |
| Population: |
8,442,533 |
| Language(s): |
Spanish |
| Literacy Rate: |
82.1% |
| Compulsory Schooling: |
10 years |
| Public Expenditure on Education: |
2.3% |
| Educational Enrollment: |
Primary: 1,360,044 |
| |
Secondary: 263,236 |
| |
Higher: 176,995 |
| Educational Enrollment Rate: |
Primary: 94% |
| |
Secondary: 54% |
| |
Higher: 23% |
| Teachers: |
Secondary: 12,504 |
| |
Higher: 9,041 |
| Female Enrollment Rate: |
Primary: 94% |
| |
Secondary: 61% |
| |
Higher: 27% |
Additional Topics
Geography & Population: The Dominican Republic occupies the eastern two-thirds of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, which is located west of Puerto Rico. Its only border is with Haiti. The Dominican Republic has an area of 48,400 kilometers, and its population was estimated at 8.4 million in 1999. For political and administrative purposes, the country is divided into three regions and sev…
General Survey: Although there are a number of programs and rights granted in educational legislation, generally these rights are not enforced by the courts in the way that they are in countries such as the United States. This is largely because the Dominican legal system, which is based on the French Code, is not oriented to the enforcement of the "minor" rights of educational entit…
Structure & Degrees: In 1985 the structure of the educational pyramid consisted of three years of noncompulsory preschool education; six years in primary school; and six years in middle school, divided into two years of intermediate education and four years of secondary school, or into four years and two years (Plan de Reforma). Students who continued to that point received their high schoo…
The Pre-Kinder and Kinder programs of the Dominican Republic were initiated by Rene Klang de Guzman, the wife of Antonio Guzman, in 1981. While this program never developed much beyond a pilot program, the organization for the welfare of children and their rights, CONANI, has lasted for over 20 years. At the time of the midway assessment of the Plan Decenal in August 2000, approximately 23 percent…
Once past the sixth grade, two tracks are established for continuing students: the academic track that continues on through the twelfth grade with academic studies for those students who wish to pursue a university education, and the technical-professional tracks, for those who wish to enter any of the technical schools. Actual differentiation into tracks occurs at entry into secondary level at te…
Public & Private Universities: The present university system, both public and private, owes much of its standards and administrative policy to the influence of the Universidad Autonoma de Santo Domingo (UASD). This university, the oldest in Latin America, was created by Pope Paul II in 1538 by Papal Bull and has a long academic tradition and influence in local politics. Awarded autonomous s…
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 subsecretari…
The Plan Decenal addresses inclusion of the nonformal programs and informal branches of the educational scheme (e.g., adult education, literacy, and vocational training). Special education is no longer isolated from traditional school programs, and there are interphasing links between the nonformal education network and the normal academic program. Total enrollment in adult education is 129,132, w…
Qualifications: In the past it was considered ordinary for a public school teacher to be a graduate only of one of the normal schools that trained high school graduates for two years in teaching techniques. Reforms have mandated that each teacher must have a licenciatura or a university five-year degree to be able to teach in the public school system. Under the Plan Decenal funds were made availab…
Five-Year Evaluation: The five-year evaluation of the Plan Decenal in August 2000 addressed the relative successes and failures in solving chronic problems within the Dominican educational system. Issues assessed for progress included illiteracy and enrollment, school calendar, standardized testing, curriculum reform, teacher shortages and professionalism, support associations, and health care and…
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