Dominican lawmaker proposes making Creole mandatory in schools nationwide

Santo Domingo.- A proposed bill in the Dominican Republic would make Creole, English and French mandatory subjects in schools from primary through secondary education, sparking opposition from several political, historical and civic groups.

The initiative was submitted to the Chamber of Deputies on August 31 by PRM Deputy Julio César Beltré and seeks to transform the country’s education system into a multilingual model. The proposal would apply to public, private and mixed-management schools authorized by the Ministry of Education (Minerd).

According to the bill’s preamble, the inclusion of Creole is based on the historical, commercial, cultural and migratory ties between the Dominican Republic and Haiti, the two countries that share the island of Hispaniola.

Opposition to mandatory Creole education

The proposal has drawn criticism from several sectors, including the Duarte Institute. Its president, Wilson Gómez, rejected the mandatory teaching of Creole in Dominican schools, arguing that the language does not contribute to the comprehensive education required by the Dominican Constitution.

Gómez also warned that implementing the measure could require the hiring of hundreds of Haitian teachers, while potentially encouraging greater enrollment of Haitian students in Dominican public schools.

The president of the Fuerza Nacional Progresista went further, describing the bill as a strategy aimed at what he characterized as the normalization of the occupation of Dominican territory.

Historian and essayist Manuel Núñez also criticized the proposal, calling the incorporation of Creole as a mandatory subject a step backward for the Dominican education system.

The bill is now subject to the legislative process in Congress. If approved, it would establish a multilingual curriculum requiring Dominican students to study Creole, English and French in addition to Spanish, from primary through secondary education.