Ei-iE

On Friday 21 March, Eduardo Hidalgo, president of the ADP teachers’ union, announced the organisation’s commitment to hold a National Leaders’ Plenary to plan the development of Education International’s Go Public! campaign in the Dominican Republic.

Hidalgo, who is also a member of the Regional Committee of Education International Latin America (EILA), made the announcement on the closing day of the ADP’s First National Leaders’ Plenary of 2025, named in memory of their colleague David Hernández. Hernández, a teacher, died on 18 March of a heart attack while participating in a demonstration in front of the regional education office in San Francisco de Macorís in defence of public education in the Dominican Republic.

Gabriela Bonilla, director of the Education International Latin America (EILA) regional office took part in the ADP event, at which she gave a presentation on EI’s Go Public! campaign and the United Nations Recommendations on the Teaching Profession. She also analysed key elements of the Dominican education sector and highlighted the ADP’s actions in defence of better conditions for the education communities in the Caribbean country.

Bonilla presented documentation compiled by the Latin American Education Policies Observatory (OLPE), showing a high education budget execution of 4%, which is not reflected in the state of the education infrastructure. At the same time, funds are allocated to pay enrolment fees in private education centres, with the Programme to Address School Overcrowding, and funding is given to civil society groups, churches and non-governmental organisations linked to the education sector. This translates as approximately 10% of the Dominican public education budget being transferred to the private sector.