I have about had it with Alejandrina German

[A.Hidalgo]

Nuria won the Casandra prize for "Programa de Investigacion del Año" or "Investigative program of the year" the following years 1988, 89 90, 92, 93, 96, 97, 98, 99, 2001, 2002......and she does it again this year....you go girl.

YouTube - CASANDRA 2008 PARA NURIA PIERA Y ALICIA ORTEGA

[bob saunders]

Originally Posted by A.Hidalgo

Nuria won the Casandra prize for "Programa de Investigacion del Año" or "Investigative program of the year" the following years 1988, 89 90, 92, 93, 96, 97, 98, 99, 2001, 2002......and she does it again this year....you go girl.

YouTube - CASANDRA 2008 PARA NURIA PIERA Y ALICIA ORTEGA

Are there any other investigative programs in the DR?

[rtejeda]

The view I express here are my own and not necessarily those of DR1:

I have issues with the way the entire government is run in D.R. and the extreme open corruption it adheres to. I find it to be very disturbing, the fact that the secretary of education, Alejadrina German, is building a mansion in Ocoa with money she can't justify. However what is more disturbing is the fact that no anti-corruption official is questioning this lady about those allegations that Nuria Piere put forward.
Where is Octavio Lister and company?

[A.Hidalgo]

We should not forget that the investigation by Nuria did not bring to light any evidence indicating that the secretary of education had used public funds to build the mansion. Interesting questions were brought up in the investigative program that have yet to be answered. The road has been opened for further scrutiny. We shall see if Octavio Lister is doing a follow up. Come to think of it there are other mansions to look into......

[Chip]

Originally Posted by A.Hidalgo

We should not forget that the investigation by Nuria did not bring to light any evidence indicating that the secretary of education had used public funds to build the mansion. Interesting questions were brought up in the investigative program that have yet to be answered. The road has been opened for further scrutiny. We shall see if Octavio Lister is doing a follow up. Come to think of it there are other mansions to look into......

Que raro que los come solos no se querian meterse con el activadazo, maybe they have something to hide too.

[arturo]

At the risk of oversimplifying something that isn't especially complicated, I ask whether anyone believes an electorate with an average level of education that exceeds 8 years (without addressing the question of quality, which is yet another valid consideration) would be as susceptible to salami waving, RD$500 note distributing as are so many Dominicans, whose average level of education, sadly, is below that number?

The Freddy y Punto gang had one of their best comic/tragic social commentary moments on this very subject during last night's program when they compared the US Democratic primary season events to Dominican elections.

Originally Posted by qgrande

This is a bold statement and an interesting point.
Of course there are plenty of historical examples of dictators and pseudo-dictators actively keeping their populations uneducated, to avoid too much criticism. I think the Duvaliers and even Aristide are said to have followed this policy. And in the Dominican context, an uneducated uncritical population is of course a necessary element in a system of caciquismo.

But what about today's Dominican political elite? Do they actively and consciously underfund education and keep the Dominican population uneducated to maintain the political status quo? Or are they perhaps mildly yet genuinly interested in improving education, but end up being even more interested in filling their own pockets and spending money on projects that build short-term loyalty?

[arturo]

with respect to the Dominican political class:

"Llegan en chancletas, luego salen en yipeta"

Originally Posted by Chip

Unfortunately, here in the DR this seems to be the case. There is an absurd amount of lack of accountability, and many of the politicians know it. They purposely delfect blame and use big words to mislead the more or less uneducated majority.

I hate to say it but I have heard comments from Domincans talking about their family who made it big in politics and did whatever they could do legally and illegally to make sure they were set after their four years - and guess what, they discuss it so nonchalantly, if not proudly. Unfortunately, what these bozos don't realize is they are ridiculed and lambasted in Western society as being the clowns and immoral thieves that they are. There is a big disconnect between how their understanding of democracy and the real deal. Worse is the gall they have to criticize other countries politics and lack of democracy - amazing - straight from the stoneages. I suppose ignorance is bliss, eh?

[Chip]

Originally Posted by arturo

with respect to the Dominican political class:

"Llegan en chancletas, luego salen en yipeta"

o sea, en yipetas, con casas grandes, prendas, vacaciones a disnei, y los negocios sin deuda.

The most comical thing though is everybody says los politicos no son serios, but if someone gets a position in the goverment and doesn't end up with a new yipeta and house they say, que pendejon - go figure.

[A.Hidalgo]

The following is from DR1 news of today. It includes one of my favorite themes in the article..... The "General Law of Education 66-97". In an earlier post (#4) in this thread I wrote about this law that keeps being ignored by the Leonel administration. The articles says that it will not be implemented till 2013!!!...Talk about flaunting a law that's been in the books for over 10 years. If only someone could prosecute the government for braking its own laws. Shame the losers are the Dominican people relegated to one of the lowest spending for education in LA and the world....somehow that metro keeps coming up in my mind.

New 10-Year Education Plan
Education Minister Alejandrina German has unveiled the government's 10-Year Education Plan for 2008-2018, calling it an instrument for changing education in the country. The plan follows a lengthy consultation phase with private educators, teaching unions, business and civil society groups, as reported in Hoy. Nevertheless, it postpones the implementation of General Law of Education 66-97 that calls for the government to invest 4% of the Gross Domestic Product in education until 2013.
During the presentation, Luis Sanchez Noble, speaking for the business community, spoke about the changes that are needed. "Up to now we have been surrounded by brilliant speeches, but action has been weak", he stated. He encouraged Dominican teachers to be better trained, highlighting the fact that more and better quality education is needed. He called for the cooperation of the Dominican Public School Teachers Association (ADP) so that teaching schedules are met.

my bold

Dominican Republic News & Travel Information Service

[arturo]

It's really shameful. German is utterly ineffective. She is an example of the worst of the Dominican political class. Her impact on education during her tenure has rarely if ever gone beyond the symbolic. Meanwhile, the evidence of her having enriched herself far beyond what her government compensation could explain is hard to ignore.