| Login | |
| Currency | |
| Weather | |
| |
US Ambassador rates Dominican education as poor
posted on: May 26 2011 14:39 by The Reporter. Viewed 844 times.
The U.S. Ambassador to the Dominican Republic said last week that the Dominican Republic has made impressive economic progress, but should face its problems with education, corruption, law and energy distribution.
Raul H. Yzaguirre, speaking to the monthly luncheon of the American Chamber of Commerce, also congratulated President Leonel Fernandez for his support of the anti-corruption participatory initiative, which he said could become an international model for fighting corruption.
The diplomat said that the Dominican Republic has overcome better than many other countries the global economic crisis, but maintaining growth and making it more fair and sustainable is a challenge.
He said that the free trade agreement has brought the Dominican Republic and his country closer as business partners. He cited the fact that “Dominicana” is taking on an important role in the region and that the United States is committed to the country.
Regarding the challenges, he said that the most important problem that faces the Dominican Republic is that of education, with low levels in mathematics, in spite of high rates of economic growth, beyond what you would expect of the rate of educational achievements.
Yzaguirre cited a study which ranks Dominican Republic last in math, reading and science, among 16 Latin American countries evaluated.
He also mentioned an evaluation which placed the country in 66th place in math, among 67 nations which participated in the International Student Evaluation Program.
Another of the challenges is the issue of energy, and he said that the first thing that should be done is to guarantee those that consume energy pay for it, and that the government should only subsidize the poor families, although he recognized that it would be a difficult process, but one that merits the support of the business community.
On corruption, the U.S. Ambassador noted that despite that “everybody” complains of corruption in Dominican Republic, “I’m convinced that something can, in fact, be done.”
“If the Dominican Government doesn’t enjoy the confidence of its people, it will not be able to carry out the fundamental reforms that are necessary to forge onwards. For that, the Government of he Dominican Republic must address the issue of corruption,” the U.S. ambassador said, and hailed the Government’s Participative Anti-Corruption Initiative (IPAC), propose by president Leonel Fernandez with the support of the civil society and the U.S.
Digg it!
del.icio.us
MySpace
Facebook
Fark
Reddit
Newsvine