Omar Fernández warns about migratory pressure on the Dominican educational system
The senator for the National District, Omar Fernández, has brought to the table a concern he considers critical for the country’s future: the impact of uncontrolled migration on Dominican classrooms. According to the legislator, the exponential increase of Haitian students in the public system, added to the decrease in Dominican students and the lack of school spots, reflects a lack of state planning that requires immediate attention.
According to the data presented by Fernández, in the last 17 years the proportion of Haitian students in the educational system went from one for every 100 Dominican students to one for every 13. This figure represents an increase of 716%, going from just over 25 thousand students in 2007 to exceeding 205 thousand in 2025.
We are talking about a 716% increase. If it were economic growth, it would be extraordinary, but we are talking about migration, a significant part of it irregular, and the pressure that this reality ends up exerting on public services.
Omar Fernández, Senator of the National District
A contradiction in the educational system
The senator emphasized the disparity in the official figures: while the system incorporated more than 180,000 Haitian students, the enrollment of Dominican students decreased by 141,500. Given this scenario, he questioned the effectiveness of the government’s management, especially regarding the voucher and coupon program implemented in 2022 to transfer students to private schools due to a lack of space in public education.
- 94.7% of the increase in foreign students corresponds to Haitian nationals.
- The school voucher program, presented as a transitional solution, has seen the number of children without a spot triple in three years.
- The lack of school infrastructure forces the State to allocate public funds to purchase spots in the private sector.
Call for institutional responsibility
Fernández stressed that the constitutional recognition of the right to education should not be a blank check that exempts the State from its obligation to control borders. The legislator recalled that, from his seat, he has promoted stricter laws against human trafficking and smuggling, achieving sentences of up to 20 years in prison for officials involved in these crimes.
Finally, the senator urged the Government to set aside short-term responses and move towards structural planning. According to Fernández, it is imperative that the country discuss without evasion how to combine firm migration control with a real expansion of educational infrastructure, to ensure that public resources translate into well-being for Dominican citizens.
