國
立 政 治 大 學
‧
N a tio na
l C h engchi U ni ve rs it y
Chapter 5 Situation of Education in Haiti before January 2010 Earthquake
The assessment of the results achieved in the education sector in Haiti aims to evaluate whether or not the actions undertaken in the sector before the earthquake of January 2010 have helped to build an education system complying with the international standards of quality. The results of this analyst will be necessary to assess the effectiveness of the actions undertaken in the sector by the GOH and its partners particularly the IDB.
5.1. Situation of the Sector before January 12 Earthquake
The constitution of the Republic of Haiti made obligation to the GOH to facilitate free access to quality education to all Haitians14. However, during the years preceding the devastating earthquake of January 2010, the statistics recorded for the sector were similar to those of a country facing war for a long period.
Before the occurrence of the January 12 earthquake, the GOH has a very low control over the education sector. This situation was due mainly to the fact that the GOH lacks of resources to either finance schooling activities in the country or enrolling sufficient and well qualified staff to look over the activities by other actors involved in the sector. This cycle leaded to a situation of a sector where state regulation is almost non-existent. As a consequence the lack of resources combined to a deficient regulatory system opened the way for an education sector where about 85% of school facilities were operated by other private sector counterparties. Moreover, the relative absence of the state in the education affairs in addition
14 Haiti constitution of 1807, and revised constitution of 1987
‧
to low income level and a continuous impoverishment of the population made of education an expensive service only affordable for a small portion of the population. Indeed, studies conducted by the Haitian statistic authority IHSI15, showed that over that period households with school-aged members spent 14% of their income in education (IHSI, 2011). This cycle of poverty has contributed to worsening the statistics of the sector.
Starting the 2000 decade, the literacy rate among the youngest fringe of the population was very low. While other Caribbean and Latin American countries had a literacy rate turning around 91%, in Haiti only 55% of the population older than 15 years was literate.
Similarly, statistics relative to school attendance for the young children were also low. Only 6 out 10 children aged between 6 and 11 years old attended school. The situation in the rural areas was even worse with about 54% of the group attending school while in the urban areas had 74% of children between 6 to 11 years to attend school.
In terms of teachers, over the same period it was estimated that among the 45 thousand teachers serving in the system only 5 out 10 have received a secondary education and adding to that overall low salary in the system that made of this profession less attractive for many and particularly well-qualified human resources. Low salaries16, at approximately 60 USD per month, in both the public and private sector, result in high teacher turnover, in addition to many staff members not reporting to school on time and/or consistently (Lunde, 2008).
Before the 2010 earthquake, school infrastructures were also an issue for the performance of the sector. Other than being built in bad condition and without any respect of safety rules, the
15 IHSI: Haitian Institute for Statistics and Informatics
16 Appendix 6: wage grid for education workers
‧
國立 政 治 大 學
‧
N a tio na
l C h engchi U ni ve rs it y
schools sites were lacked of basic needs to perform, for instance only half of the schools have had access to water, etc.
The situation described above traduced the low level of human and physical capital that characterized the education sector before January 2010. A situation that all the forces and actors in the sectors intended to change as many understood the role that education has to play in fighting against poverty and creating a society more balanced and fair where everyone would have the opportunity to hope for better life and to stand in dignity.
5.2. Assessment of the reforms in the sector of education before January 2010
Successive governments that have ruled the country of Haiti over the last 30 years have recognized the need to focus on education as the main force to drive the socio-economic development and to help the country achieve sufficient level of national development in the global scheme. This focus has been the reason why many attempts were made to reform the sector.
5.2.1. The Bernard Reform
Starting the early 80’s the country has embarked into its very first major educational reform known as the “Bernard Reform” (in French “La Réforme Bernard”) which was an attempt to modernize the Haitian education system by aligning the education structure with the needs of the labor market. Indeed, beginning 1982 the GOH has launched the “Bernard Reform” with main objective being to rebuild an educational sector so far obsolete and unable to meet the international standards of quality in education. This reform envisioned that more students would complete school with academic skills that could contribute to Haiti’s economic growth.
‧
education Joseph C. Bernard on May 20, 1979:1) establishment of basic education for all school-age children by the year 2000;
2) introduction of “Kreyol (local language spoken by all Haitians) as an official language of instruction;
3) restructuring of primary and secondary grades;
4) revamping of pedagogy;
5) adaptation of curricula to students’ reality as a catalyst for social and economic development.
Marc E. Prou17, researcher at the University of Massachusetts describes the state of the sector at the dawn of this reform as follow: “the country’s schooling system has sunk into a persistent state of crisis, afflicted with such problem as a lack of adequate schools, poor quality of teaching personnel, a high rate of failure to the Baccalauréat (baccalaureate) examination, wide disparities between urban and rural schooling, constant teachers ‘strikes for living wage, and chronic student protest for improved schools, etc. (Prou, 2009)”
Although at date there has been no comprehensive assessment of the nationwide impact of this reform, the fact is that the reform has not been successfully implemented given that the same issues that it was aimed to address are still of a concern for the GOH and its partners.
In the other hands, experts of the education sector in Haiti agree to say that despite the limited results, this reform serves as a catalyst to start re-orienting the Haitian educational system (Prou, 2009). Marc Prou further concludes that the Bernard Reform was doomed to failure
17 Attempts at reforming Haiti’s education system: The challenges of mending the tapestry, 1979-2004
‧
國立 政 治 大 學
‧
N a tio na
l C h engchi U ni ve rs it y
due to the lack of commitment, ownership, and political will on the part of the foreign actors involved in the system as well as local agents.
5.2.2. The National Plan on Education and Training (NPET) of 1997
The NPET of 1997 was a plan that introduced a shift away from the French education model (Luzincourt & Gulbrandson, 2010). The main objective of the plan was to ensure the free access to primary education to all Haitian children. However, this goal as of the occurrence of the earthquake of January 2010 was not achieved.
5.2.3. The Presidential Commission for Education in Haiti of 2008
Headed by the rector of the Université Quisqueya of Port-au-Prince18, the Presidential Commission for Education in Haiti was charged to elaborate a national plan for education and to provide recommendations for the new national curriculum for education. The primary goals of the commission were to provide 100% enrollment of all school-age children, a free education to all, including textbooks and materials, and a hot meal daily for each child (Carlson, 2011). Although many efforts was made in the sense of the recommendations made by this commission, the results are not as expected particularly in regards of the application of a new curriculum for education which is not yet a fact in the sector.
These results so far represent a typical example of a system that has failed to develop and implement successfully a plan to build and open access to quality education for the Haitian citizens.
18 Port-au-Prince is the capital city of Haiti and main economic center of the country
‧
國立 政 治 大 學