School crisis: María Teresa Cabrera demands better planning in the face of a lack of spots
The president of the Broad Front, María Teresa Cabrera, has focused on a problem that has become chronic in the Dominican educational system: the shortage of school spots at the beginning of each academic year. The political leader questioned the lack of efficiency in the management of resources allocated to the sector and emphasized that, after years of investing 4% of the GDP, the country should have overcome this infrastructure deficit.
Although Cabrera did not confirm the figures aired by teachers’ unions regarding the number of students who could be left out of the classrooms, he acknowledged that requests for assistance from families concerned about their children’s schooling are a constant in his political work.
The challenge of territorial planning
For the president of the Broad Front, the core of the problem lies in poor planning. Cabrera pointed out that there is a marked disproportion in the distribution of schools: while educational centers have been built in areas with low student density, key hubs such as Greater Santo Domingo, Santiago, and La Altagracia province suffer the consequences of population growth and internal migration that the State has failed to successfully project.
It is a matter of planning. It is necessary to determine where there is a higher concentration of population and to project the growth of communities before deciding where to build new educational centers.
María Teresa Cabrera
Universal right to education
During his speech, Cabrera emphatically rejected the positions that attempt to blame the Haitian student population for the lack of space in public centers. The leader stressed that education is a fundamental human right that transcends nationalities.
- Education is a universal right for every child, regardless of their background.
- It is necessary to avoid the stigmatization of migrant groups due to administrative system failures.
- The State must prioritize the optimization of existing resources so that no community is left without access to education.
Finally, the political leader called on educational authorities to carry out a precise survey to identify the areas of greatest demand. The goal, according to Cabrera, is to ensure that school infrastructure is where it is truly needed, thus guaranteeing the right to academic training for all minors residing in the national territory.
