In a country where over 50% of the population lives off less than $3 a day, past progress in education could quickly be overturned after economic hardship brought on by the pandemic has made education virtually unaffordable.

School children in Haiti first missed class earlier this year due to political turmoil and violent protests against the government, and soon after, the Coronavirus pandemic took the rest of the year away from them. Both situations were accompanied by economic distress, and now many parents have realized that they can no longer afford to pay for their children’s education.

The pandemic has impacted education across the world, however Haiti has suffered a particularly harsh blow. Only around two thirds of adults in the country can successfully read and write, meaning that the education crisis goes back many years. In the past decade, Haiti was able to increase its elementary school attendance rate from 76% to 84%, progress that is currently at risk.

Haiti was also unable to carry out virtual schooling, seeing as over half of the country earns less than $3 every day and has very poor access to internet and television. The government has been suffering years of unrest and is still struggling to recuperate from the 2010 earthquake.

The education ministry doesn’t have much to work with when trying to combat the problem. This sector currently receives 11% of the total budget, a 5% decrease from previous years, when the global average is set at 20% of total spending. Given this lack of resources, four out of five schools in the country are private.

Tuition in these private schools is usually pretty low, however with the current financial plight Haiti is going through, many expenses are becoming more and more difficult to keep up with. Even families who send their children to public schools are struggling to purchase basic school materials or decent clothes.

Children in Haiti without proper schooling risk having to work in the informal sector, not having a job, or worst of all, being initiated into local gangs. Over 50% of the adult Haitian population is currently unemployed.

Miloody Vincent, a spokesman for the education ministry, has said that they will be providing financial aid to 50,000 families or more, prioritizing those in the most vulnerable situations. While this is a very good first step, it is still important to help the millions of families dealing with the same problem.

In terms of health, Haiti was not affected much by Coronavirus, however students and teachers are obligated to wear masks while in school. The government also ordered for overcrowded schools to be divided into rotation days in order to avoid the potential spread of the virus, however five directors of different private schools have said that only around half of their students had come back to school. “Overcrowding is no longer a problem – school finances are.” (Reuters, 2020)

Teachers have also been impacted by the current economic crisis. With underfunded schools not being able to pay them, teachers are switching to other job markets, making it very likely for these schools to close in the near future.

“I haven’t been able to pay teachers since March. The state promised us some financial aid but we haven’t received anything yet.”

Leonard Turenne, Director of Pierre Fermat secondary school

Those who don’t have the option to leave their jobs have taken to protesting on the streets, demanding that they be paid and have better working conditions. Teachers have led sporadic demonstrations in cities like Gonaives, St. Marc, and Jacmel.

Some students have also joined these protests. On Tuesday, there was an altercation in Jacmel between a police officer and a student protestor that left many horrified. Two members of Haiti National Police’s specialized Department Unit of Maintenance of Order were caught on tape punching a student while dragging him down the street. The student was arrested and taken to a police station nearby.

Manigat, the former education minister in Haiti has expressed his opinion on the matter, saying that “it’s only right” that the government meet teacher salary demands through months of back pay. They go on to say that there is a real lack of resources due to the fact that education simply isn’t a priority for authorities in the country.

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