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Dominican Vice President launches new school year, highlights educational investments
🇩🇴 Dominican Republic /Culture & Society

Dominican Vice President launches new school year, highlights educational investments

From Diario Libre · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources New plan
  • Vice President Raquel Peña inaugurated the 2026-2027 school year in Santiago, emphasizing the government's commitment to education.
  • Over 2 million students returned to classes, with significant investments in new classrooms, teacher training, and school maintenance.
  • The Ministry of Education projects over 2.6 million students for the year, focusing on early childhood education, literacy, and technical-vocational training.

Vice President Raquel Peña led the opening ceremony for the 2026-2027 academic year in Santiago on Monday, held at the Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes polytechnic. She highlighted the government's dedication to strengthening the education system and enhancing student development, describing education as a key tool for transforming knowledge into opportunities.

Education constitutes one of the main tools for transforming knowledge into opportunities and building a better future.

— Raquel PeñaVice President's remarks on the importance of education during the school year opening ceremony.

More than 2 million students nationwide are returning to classrooms. Peña detailed government efforts to improve school conditions and teacher preparedness, including training for over 90,000 educators. The system has also gained 1,500 new classrooms, and 1,342 schools received maintenance. At the host polytechnic, 24 new classrooms were built, alongside renovated labs and other technical training spaces. Additionally, over 36,000 technological scholarships have been awarded through ITLA in fields like artificial intelligence and cybersecurity.

Ancella Scheker, Vice Minister of Technical and Pedagogical Affairs at the Ministry of Education, projected a total enrollment of 2,686,971 students for the upcoming year, with 2,084,202 in public schools. Key priorities include expanding early childhood education coverage, boosting literacy, improving primary and secondary learning outcomes, and advancing technical-vocational and artistic education. The ministry is also strengthening English language instruction and implementing a national digital education strategy focused on computational thinking, AI, and STEM.

The Ministry of Education projects a total enrollment of 2,686,971 students for the upcoming year, with 2,084,202 in public schools.

— Ancella SchekerVice Minister of Technical and Pedagogical Affairs presenting enrollment figures.

The ceremony coincided with President Luis Abinader's simultaneous launch of the school year in Santo Domingo, underscoring the government's unified commitment to advancing Dominican education. Student Thiago Núñez Caba expressed the student body's enthusiasm for returning to school, thanking families and teachers for their support.

We are returning to the classrooms with joy and gratitude for the support of our families and teachers.

— Thiago Núñez CabaA student expressing the community's feelings about the start of the new school year.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Diario Libre in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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