SANTO DOMINGO - President Luis Abinader announced yesterday, Monday, that the Dominican education system will begin the 2025-2026 school year with a total enrollment of 2,664,028 students , of which 77.5% correspond to the public sector and 22.5% to the private sector , distributed across 7,931 public schools and thousands of private institutions.
During the presentation of the educational overview, the president highlighted that more than 1.3 million students (72.4%) study in extended school days, which represents 205,424 additional students compared to the 2019-2020 school year.
This information was provided by the ruler during the Weekly Press Conference, held in the Caryatids Hall of the National Palace , which was themed "Guaranteed Education".
The head of state assured that his government is working around four fundamental pillars:
1. Quality education from the classroom, with early literacy programs, improved learning and use of technology, including robotics and artificial intelligence tools to strengthen mathematics in secondary school.
2. Education that opens doors to employability , with the expansion of technical and professional education , English teaching and programs for young people and adults.
3. Education without excuses or exclusions, through the national school transportation system, which already operates with 1,871 buses on 660 routes, including accessible units for students with disabilities. Coverage of the School Feeding Program (PAE) is also guaranteed, along with the distribution of more than one million school kits in 69 districts.
4. Education with values, identity and active citizenship, incorporating from this year the explicit teaching of moral, civic and ethical citizenship at all levels, in addition to programs of culture of peace, student leadership and youth participation.
He highlighted the impact of social programs such as “Bono a Mil”, which will benefit more than one million students, and the school reintegration plan “Vuelta a la Escuela”, aimed at adolescents and young people.
“Our commitment is to ensure that every child and every young person successfully completes their education with solid learning,” President Abinader stated, while emphasizing that Dominican education is moving towards an inclusive, innovative model focused on the future of new generations.
Director of INABIE
The director of INABIE, Adolfo Pérez, stated that regarding school supplies, in 2019 only 17% of students received them, in 2021 that figure rose to 32% , and by 2025 100% of students will receive them . “School supplies, such as shoes, uniforms, and backpacks for the public school system, are guaranteed.”
He said that, to date, 60% of the kits have been delivered, and that approximately 25,000 are being delivered per day . He assured that all of them could be delivered in about three or four weeks
