National Literacy Program has 3,800 volunteers so far

Santo Domingo.– Some 3,800 applications from potential volunteers hoping to participate in the National Literacy Plan have been received by the Education Ministry, following the President Danilo Medina’s effort for eliminate illiteracy in the Dominican Republic.

The National Literacy Plan, also known as "Quisqueya Learns With You," declares literacy a fundamental human right for people over 14 years old. The illiteracy rate stands at of 9.7% (the official statistic according to the Central Bank’s National Labour Force Survey).

"Despite many efforts, we still have not overcome as a society this social and ethical debt that we owe to 700,000 people," said said education minister Josefina Pimentel.

Medina called for at least 25,000 volunteers from social, religious, and university backgrounds with experience in the field of literacy. So far 3,800 have registered for the program, which will begin on 7th January 2013.