The Haiti dysfunctional educational system is not a product of the January 2010 destructive earthquake. Even before the devastating incidence, Haiti has been staggering in terms of education. The Haiti education sector was termed underdeveloped for many decades, causing a very high rate of illiteracy. Meanwhile, the January 2010 incidence further worsen the already undeveloped Haiti education system. It aggravated the country’s education fragility positioning the country in a more vulnerable situation.
The Haiti education challenges
The nation has been facing tremendous challenges, particularly after the earthquake. The loss of several school buildings in different parts of the country has led to a shortage of schooling infrastructure and educational supplies. Also, many teachers have left their profession as a result of the various difficulties surrounding the education sector.
The poor education situation is gradually getting out of hands. Due to the shortage of schools, there is presently scarcity of academic spaces for students to enroll in free public schools. The available schools are not spacious enough to accommodate the number of children in Haiti. Worse still, the government-owned school in Haiti are very few compared to the large population of the nation. Based on most trusted statistics from Haiti’s Ministry of Education (Ministère de l’Education Nationale et de la Formation Professionnelle, MENFP), four out of every five schools in Haiti are private. A larger percentage of Haitians cannot afford to enroll their wards in a private school due to the high tuition involved. Even the lowest-cost private school in Haiti is unaffordable for the underprivileged families.
On the rural side, the level of literacy is quite alarming. With 82 percent of people living in abject poverty, enrolling their children in private schools is not an option. Although, the education sector has witnessed a lot of positive changes over the past few years as a result of the establishment of some low-cost private schools, yet, the confronting challenges persist. The high poverty rate, lack of enough government-owned school, lack of adequate education supplies and low quality of education are the major challenges dragging back the Haiti educational sector. About 50 percent of students strive to make it to the sixth grade on time. Averagely, parents enroll their children two years later than their counterparts in other countries.
Precisely, Haiti education results rank among the worst in the western part of the world. Since the disaster came to worsen the already failing Haiti education system that led to the massive loss of qualified teachers, there has been a shortage of qualified teachers. About 80 percent of the country’s present primary school teachers are not professionals – they don’t have former teacher training. More than 50 percent of the students don’t complete primary school education. Only 1 percent made it through to tertiary institutions. Low teacher income, amateur teaching methods, shortage of textbooks and other teaching materials, poor academic results and more are the vivid evidence that the Haiti education sector is running down the drain.
The numerous difficulties facing the education sector of the country has been a strong, challenging factor for the future of Haiti children. Many children in Haiti are born with the potential to become national icons and dignitaries but the devastating education condition combined with the abject poverty limits their respective capacities.
Education is light. An uneducated generation might grow to become dysfunctional in society. Besides, quality education will help equip many Haiti children with the necessary skills required to compete in the global marketplace. It will also help the country in all endeavors and affect the world at large.
Beyond doubt, the prevailing socio-political violence in the country is as a result of the lack of adequate education in the country. No enlightened youth would want to lead political violence knowing the cost after all. Summarily put, the Haiti dysfunctional education system is becoming a major problem for the nation itself in terms of the poor economy, poverty, violence, social unrest, and more. Restoring the education sector of the nation is key to changing the future of Haiti to the better.
Our Approach
Unfortunately, the government of the nation is limited in capacities to adequately respond to the education crisis in the country. That necessitates the intervention of the concerned to rise and fight for the future of the innocent children.
At Illuminating Lives Foundation, it’s our passion to see the Haitians – both young and adults – living their dreams. Over the past years, we have been diligently committed to the development of the Haiti education sector. Part of our approach to solving the overwhelming education challenges in the country is our education program called Lighting Lives Foundation.
The lighting Lives Foundation accept the responsibility to help both the uneducated children and illiterate adults to gain access to quality education. Part of our topmost objectives is to support the enrolment of students in standard non-governmental primary and secondary schools in the underprivileged regions.
Through the Lighting Lives Foundation, we are in constant effort to encourage student attendance in public schools, ensuring they are motivated to be punctual and active at school. Our programs are also tailored to strengthen the management of Haiti’s educational sector with our consistent helping hands in building the education sector. We recognize that Haiti’s illiteracy level is below the average and that about 50% of Haitian children are presently enrolled in school. Hence, we focus on giving the underprivileged people in Haiti, and other countries the benefit to access primary education in many remote areas that have been desolated and neglected. Most rural communities lack basic education services, and that’s exactly what we are doing.
For many years now, our education program, Lighting Lives Foundation has been working earnestly to support teaching and learning through a school health and nutrition program, feeding thousands of students per day. We also organize pre-service and in-service training for both primary and secondary school teachers to aid better productivity and quality education.
Quality education helps enlighten students and enable them to maximize their God-given potentials. Building the education system of a nation amounts to building the future of the nation. Education is an integral part of children development. Our programs also feature remote and distance learning programs, construction of modern and conducive school buildings, provision of adequate training for teachers, and supplying essential teaching aids. We also provide financial support for the families of poor students to enable physical and mental growth.
