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Escolares con uniforme azul caminan sobre una calle mojada hacia la entrada de su escuela mientras el personal revisa el edificio tras las lluvias
Estudiantes regresan a un plantel tras las lluvias, mientras el personal verifica las condiciones del edificio. · Imagen generada para EPM

Dominican Republic resumes classes this Thursday after heavy rains

The Ministry of Education announced that teaching will resume this Thursday, October 29, in schools suspended over the heavy rains, after a review of each…

--- The context --- The Dominican Republic resumes school activity after several days of rainfall linked to two troughs over its territory. The phenomenon brought downpours, electrical storms, gusts of wind and flooding, while the authorities kept alerts in place over the risk of rising rivers, streams and creeks. --- The facts --- The Ministry of Education announced that teaching will resume this Thursday, October 29, in the schools that had kept a preventive suspension because of the heavy rains. The return will depend on a prior review of each school and on the lifting of the yellow alerts by the Emergency Operations Center. The rains left 1.165.586 students from the public, private and semi-official sectors without classes, according to the education authorities. The suspension covered 3.898 centers in 11 provinces under a yellow alert, over the possibility of urban and sudden flooding, as well as overflowing bodies of water. The largest number of affected students was in Santo Domingo, where 646.296 students stopped attending 1.572 schools. It was followed by San Cristóbal, with 169.644 students in 582 schools, San Juan, with 60.805 students, Barahona, with 58.038, and Azua, with 57.284, in addition to centers in Monte Plata, Peravia, Bahoruco, Independencia, San José de Ocoa and Pedernales. --- The positions --- The Ministry instructed regional, district and school directors to organize the reopening. Each school community must verify its facilities before receiving students, teachers and administrative staff, to determine whether there is damage, waterlogging or other situations that could affect safety. The institution stated that the safety and well-being of its students are its priority. The authorities also recommended that families confirm the state of their schools before traveling, and they asked staff to stay attentive to official information and to regional and district decisions. The Dominican Institute of Meteorology anticipated a gradual reduction in the rainfall, although it warned that moderate to strong downpours could still occur during Thursday. The Emergency Operations Center kept four provinces under a yellow alert on Wednesday, October 28, and another 16 demarcations, including the Distrito Nacional, under a green alert. --- What remains unknown --- The announcement did not specify whether any school will keep teaching suspended after Thursday. The decision will depend on the evaluation of each center and on guidance from the emergency bodies, in a context where rain is still expected in the southeast, Greater Santo Domingo and the interior. --- Unanswered questions --- How many schools will pass the prior review without damage or waterlogging that affects safety? Will any center keep teaching suspended after Thursday because of the condition of its facilities? How will the downpours forecast for the southeast and for interior areas evolve during the day? Will the yellow alerts that were still in place on Wednesday, October 28, be lifted? --- EPM analysis --- The conditional reopening combines a return to the school routine with a school-by-school verification that puts safety first. The scale of the suspension, with 1.165.586 students affected, explains the official caution and the need for every family to confirm the state of its center before traveling. 📌 EPM Take: In EPM's view, resuming classes with a prior review of each school is the balanced decision between recovering the school day and protecting students, teachers and administrative staff. No return should happen in a building with unresolved damage or waterlogging, and no family should travel without official confirmation of the state of its center. If the verification is carried out rigorously in the 11 affected provinces and the alerts are followed closely, this Thursday's return can be orderly, safe and fair for every school community in the country.
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