In order to contribute to the reduction of school dropout rates at the middle school level and to provide young people with a technical career, the Minister of Education, Ángel Hernández, and the general director of the National Institute of Technical Professional Training (Infotep), Rafael Santos Badía, signed an agreement that seeks to provide young people with professional training to complement their high school studies.
The alliance also contemplates the adult modality (Prepara), so that they can obtain their high school diploma and also pursue a technical career with the support of Infotep.
Under the agreement, Infotep will encourage apprentices to pursue technical careers in this system and, if they are not apprentices, to complete their bachelor’s degree through the Prepara program.
The officials explained that the purpose of the agreement is to strengthen the middle levels of education and the assimilation of basic knowledge, as executed by the Ministry of Education, accompanied by quality learning of a productive skill, both in traditional trades and in careers of the fourth industrial revolution.
The Minister of Education stressed the importance of technical-professional training in the process of incorporating young people into quality and timely work.
“It is important to take advantage of the synergy between institutions to enhance the opportunities that the State offers to young people, strengthening training at all levels,” said the Minister.
For his part, the general director of Infotep said that it was established, starting in the 2024-2025 school year, that students in the last year of secondary education will begin a pilot plan that will allow them to simultaneously pursue their high school studies and a technical career.
“Today we are witnessing a historic event; with the signing of this agreement, we will provide young people who are studying high school, with skills that will allow them to join the productive market in any of the professional families offered by the Minerd,” he said.
He said that the agreement is framed within the policies of President Luis Abinader to boost the national productive sector, which requires a well-prepared workforce.
More about the agreement
The Minerd committed to provide the resources to finance the technical-professional training services required within the framework of the agreement.
At the same time, it will be in charge of summoning, organizing and registering high school or youth and adult education subsystem students, by groups, and referring them to Infotep in the previously agreed training areas.
The Minerd will provide places for Infotep students in its Prepara program (secondary level for young people and adults), in order to complete their pre-university studies or their progression to higher education.
On the other hand, Infotep will provide quotas to high school students who choose to be trained and accredited in different training offers of Infotep.
It will also develop training offers, at the request of the Minerd, that contribute to the complementary training of students enrolled in the technical-professional and arts modalities, taking into account the aspects defined in the National Qualifications Framework.
Jointly, both institutions agreed to establish, as of the beginning of the 2024-2025 school year, the mechanisms that facilitate and ensure the progression and articulation of education, in order to respond to the requirements of the labor market.
Infotep and Minerd will update the teachers who will teach the subjects covered by the agreement to provide experience.
Source:presidencia.gob.do
