By Daniel Smith,
Worthy of note is the fact that for a society to really enjoy qualitative growth, attention must be shifted to the educational sector of the society in question. Affordable and accessible educational system is the cornerstone for a viable economic growth, better health and good governance culminating in a sustainable environment. Thus, quality attention to education does not only transform individuals but also the society as a whole.
So far, the educational system of Haiti has remained a lasting vestige of the colonial past. In Haiti’s earliest constitution, education was preserved as a human right following the successful revolution that brought about its independence in 1804. Two centuries later, Haiti’s education is among the worst in the western hemisphere, with about 80% of their primary school teachers not formally trained. Only 1% of students graduate to the university stage, and over half of the students fail to complete their primary school education.
Despite the earthquake that left the country devastated on January 12, 2010, with about 230,000 people dead and about 2 million homeless, life has to go on. Hundreds of thousands of people remain displaced, and acquiring formal education may seem like a secondary need. Even with the serious deficiencies in the Haiti educational system, the country’s leaders have made efforts to improve education in the region, knowing that it is a national goal.
Consequently, three major education reforms have been attempted in a bid to improve education. These include the 1978 Bernard Reform, the 1997 National Plan on Education and Training (NPET), and the 2008 Presidential Commission for Education in Haiti. After the 2010 earthquake, a more recent attempt is the partnership between the Inter-American Development Bank and Haiti to design a new 5-year educational plan.
Regardless of the efforts, Haitians still lack access to quality education, while school access and student enrollment problem remain widespread. Several schools face challenges, and these issues have made it extremely difficult for Haitian children to break free from generational poverty; hindering social and economic progress.
One of the major factors that serve as a barrier to quality education in Haiti is that many schools in Haiti are privately run. As much as 80% of schools in Haiti are privately owned. These schools are more diverse and run by non-governmental organizations, religious organizations, and/profit institutions. As a result, acquiring formal education seems more expensive for an average Haitian when schooling in a private school. An individual’s annual tuition is between $50 to $250 in rural areas and cities, respectively.
A research carried out by Carlson et al. showed that there are about 16,000 to 17,000 private schools in Haiti, and to own a private school is not stringent as it should. Regulated permits are not really needed before a school could be built, instructors do not need a very high certifications, and no particular standard curriculum to follow. There were only ten accredited schools in Haiti at the time of the earthquake. Besides, the accreditations were not from the World Bank, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID, and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). Since Haiti’s government does not have any official accreditations, it cannot extensively oversee its public schools’ standards.
Many private school teachers have less than nine years of education. In fact, some are basically illiterates. Presently, Haiti cannot do away with unqualified teachers owing to the defective educational system, and this greatly plagues the country. Reports on Fletcher’s Forum show that about 80% to 86% of Haitians with secondary school education leave the country and migrate to other countries in search for better life. Unfortunately, these people would have been useful instrument for the promotion of a better educational system in Haiti. Jacky Lumarque, a rector, Université Quisqueya, Port-au-Prince lamented on the loss of quality personnel with international non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Responding to the natural disaster, he said: “They’re taking the best Haitians away with higher salaries… I’m losing staff now.”
If private schools were closed down, there would be nowhere for the children to go since public schools are already congested. This issue has been existing for years now without solid preventive measure put in place and it appears to be getting worse. In 2011, former Education Minister Joel Desrosiers Jean Pierre commented on the issue of overcrowding in schools. In his words “With our current budget and facilities, public schools only have the capacity to absorb 25 percent of the student population. This would only be a slight increase from the estimated 19 percent currently in the public system.”
The lack of qualified teachers does not only affect the educational system of the country but also extend to other sector in the country as well. When the French government designed a scholarship program with the intent of offering to bring 40 Haitian attorneys to France for further studies, all the applicants did not pass the test. As a result, the criteria were loosened, and 24 people were eventually selected.
Low salaries for both the public and private teachers are reportedly another cause of the barrier in Haiti’s educational system. Qualified teachers feel they are not being paid according to their qualifications. Therefore, underperformance becomes inevitable.
In addition, many parents in Haiti can’t afford to send their children to school due to lack of funds. With the cost of books, transportation, and other compulsory requirements, it seems difficult especially for the less priviledged Haitians to send their children to school. Even with a tuition waiver program, the schools will need to hire more staff if more students are enrolled, which can be a burden for the private school especially. Being the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, paying tuition fees can be a challenge for an average Haitian. The private schools adhere to no form of standards and are not accountable to any central governing body.
Unrest, instability, natural disasters, and the pandemic that ravage Haiti recently all contribute to the poor quality of education in Haiti. Unrest in the country kept 70% of students away from classes from September to November 2019, while instability stops an estimated amount of about 3 million children out of school. Then the Coronavirus pandemic came, and schools had to close down indefinitely. As schools finally reopen, it became difficult for parents to afford to send their children back to school due to the impact of the pandemic. Low-income families will only send their children back to school only when they could afford it, making their children lose many schooling years. Before the pandemic, about 500,000 school-age children are already out of school.
The government enforced that populated schools should be divided into different classes to observe physical distancing due to coronavirus. They suggested a rotation in the grouped classes in shifts of two or three days a week. This indicates that children will be provided fewer lessons in schools since they can only attend school two or three times a week.
Evaluating these, what then are the chances for a change in Haiti’s educational system, especially since it is a fragile country already overwhelmed with economic, social, and health challenges? Ensuring a better educational system will not happen in isolation; it has to work hand in hand with the overall improvement policy in the country. While huge investment in education is clearly a good step towards ensuring a better future in Haiti, the efforts may be in vain if there is no commensurable step towards improving other sectors.