The Dominican Government is launching the Christmas in the Classrooms 24/7 program, a key initiative to intervene in more than 250 schools nationwide during the Christmas vacation. With an investment exceeding RD$300 million, the School Infrastructure Directorate (DIE) of the Ministry of Education (MINERD) will refurbish more than a thousand classrooms, ensuring safe and functional spaces for the students’ return in January 2026.
Christmas in the Classrooms 24/7 involves intensive, continuous work sessions by specialized brigades. These will focus on repairs to paint, electricity, plumbing, and the installation of asphalt felts. Engineer Roberto Herrera, director of the DIE, emphasized that the objective is to directly impact educational quality, benefiting more than 2 million students and 100 thousand teachers in the public system.
Government commitment to infrastructure
This effort aligns with the overall 24/7 Maintenance plan, which has already renovated more than 800 schools in the last eight months. In addition, the construction of 2,000 new classrooms is progressing for the end of 2025, responding to historical deficits in the Dominican educational sector, where previous MINERD reports indicate that at least 30% of public schools required urgent improvements before 2024.
Launch in Santo Domingo East
The kick-off event took place at the San Vicente de Paul Educational Center in Los Mina, with the presence of Mayor Dio Astacio, provincial authorities, and community leaders. Astacio praised the initiative and promised local support, highlighting its role in vulnerable communities.
Context and progress in public education
The program reflects the priority of President Luis Abinader and Minister Luis Miguel De Camps to raise educational standards. The DIE has reinforced its capacity with 50 new vehicles and zonal equipment, streamlining operations. Historically, similar efforts in 2022-2023 intervened in 500 classrooms, but Christmas in the Classrooms 24/7 triples that scale, according to official MINERD data.
- Intervention in more than 250 national schools.
- Refurbishment of more than 1,000 classrooms.
- Investment: +RD$300 million.
- 24/7 work during the Christmas holiday.
Public education experts highlight that these actions mitigate post-pandemic lags, where enrollment dropped by 10% in 2021-2022. Christmas in the Classrooms 24/7 not only repairs, but also prepares aesthetic and safe classrooms, strengthening technical skills in demand today. This program consolidates the commitment to quality education in the Dominican Republic.