Comments on Education in Haiti The Way Forward,

authored by Laurence Wolff Prepared by Laurette M. Backer

March 10, 2010

The document Education in Haiti The Way Forward presents an objective view of the challenges facing the Haitian educational sector prior to the January 12, 2010 earthquake. Prior to the earthquake, 50% of children were not in school and the majority of schools in Haiti were private. In addition, the report expresses the expectations of all stakeholders involved in the sector and the need of the Haitian government to define a clear education policy which should lead to higher quality of education and lead to the enrollment of all children in a primary school. The document demonstrates that prior to the earthquake, there were efforts being made in the public-private partnerships (PPPs) in the education domain. During the past 20 years, there have been long debates, discussions and meetings concerning public/private relations and the structure of the education system in the country. For instance, I will draw your attention to the following specific promising developments which the report highlighted and that have been acted upon: 1. Creation in 2007 of presidential commission whose aim was to serve as a guide to the Government in making education policy decisions. It includes leading educators as well as business leaders. 2. Public funds should be used under a framework where the MENFP provides oversight, incentives and accountability in cost effective education services managed by the private sector.
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3. Suggestion that services such as testing, statistics, teacher training and distance education be provided on a contractual basis. 4. Office for Support to Private Education (DAEP), a MENFP department, has started to assess and accredit private schools with some standards with funds provided through the World Bank. 5. The National Office for Partnership in Education (ONAPE) has been created by the MENFP and will be responsible to direct public and international funds to private primary education institutions and to establish policy dialogue. 6. A private sector consortium (COSPE) has been established with the support of Unibank Foundation. It should be the principal private interlocutor with the government. It is important to highlight that these positive developments noted in the Wolff report, demonstrated the will of the Government to develop sound education sector programs through broad based consultation with all the stakeholders as required by the Fast Track Initiative (FTI). My priority is to bring attention to one of the most important recommendation made in the Wolff report, namely the role of the private sector in the Haitian educational landscape. All efforts after the earthquake must aim to break the fierce resistance of key sectors of the private education sector to changes that should give access to school to all Haitian children. Now that the private sector is considerably weakened, and in the case of some actors ruined, it must make significant concessions if it wants to survive. The private sector dialogue should not be only with government but with all organizations, community representatives, NGOs, and parents of students who generally are not taken into account although they bear the direct costs of schooling and pay taxes to the state. In particular, municipal authorities have an important role to play in being the primary authorities that should have oversight of school buildings and regulations.
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This is the perfect occasion for public schools to be on par with private schools, not in numbers but in quality. In addition, foreign aid should be allocated to both sectors in a manner so as to make sure that public schools will not be left behind. If all six-year old school children are enrolled, the problem of over-age will be solved and efforts and expenditures for literacy will diminish. To date, we must recognize that literacy programs have not given tangible results. My review of the Wolff report occurred in the post-earthquake context in Haiti; as a result I identified the following considerations concerning the education sector and presented next steps and on-going steps in each : I- Situation in Haiti today; II- Re-define and strengthen the role of the Ministry of Education (MENFP) III- Inclusion of Children with Special Needs IV- Involvement of the private sector V- Development of a clear plan to rebuild the educational system of Haiti VI- Constraints I. Situation in Haiti today

The earthquake is the perfect opportunity for the private education sector in Haiti to come to the forefront, renew its commitment to total primary school enrollment, and continue its constructive dialogue with the government (MENFP). On the ground, there seems to be a two-pronged approach being developed NGOs involved in the education cluster: 1. Affected regions It is estimated that 80% of schools in affected areas are damaged and between 30-40% in indirectly affected areas. Space for temporary schools is limited.
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MENFP is in the process of compiling an update on data based on their initial assessment. 5,000 schools were destroyed, and children are living in camps; there are major challenges as to where to place schools and how to work with the private sector schools. According to the MENFP, approximately 4,000 students and 500 teachers died in the earthquake. There is no full accounting of Ministry employees who died to this date. (3/1/10 Report, http://haitiseisme2010.gouv.ht/) MENFP has announced that schools will re-open progressively in directly and indirectly affected regions starting in March 2010. 2. Non-affected regions MENFP opened schools in non affected regions, but with limited attendance (Assessment as of 2/9/2010). There have been setbacks in Cap-Haitien and Jeremie. Parents are interested and willing to send their children but this will be a slow process. 400,000 children are displaced (estimation). Directors have been given directives to register the children in their respective departments. ON-GOING STEPS: Efforts should continue in the following manner: a) NGOs involved in the education cluster should continue to refine its analysis and assessments on the ground. b) NGOs should get MENFP and private education sector players closely involved in these efforts.

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II.

Re-define and strengthen the role of the Ministry of Education (MENFP)

A general interest for a system of regulation is emerging in Haiti. Demand for normalization after the earthquake is claimed in all domains and particularly in the education sector because the lack of education is perceived as one of the factors responsible for the huge number of victims in the earthquake. The Wolff report identified this point as a one of the key obstacles to the improvement of education in Haiti:

One glaring problem is that the state has been minimally active in both providing and overseeing education which has left Haiti devoid of any standard of educational quality. For decades, there has been little focuses public sector interest in education, and a constant shuffle of education ministers and personnel who may have come to see education posts as part of an entrenched spoils system, rather than a critical social service. Within this inadequate system of oversight, special interestteachers and their unions, private school managers and their owner, education authorities and bureaucratshave resisted change because it might negatively affect their relative positions. (p.7)
The MENFPs focus should be pedagogy (programs and applications), supervision of inspectors, testing of ratings, and analysis of academic performance. Once they are able to concentrate on this, it should to innovative solutions in this sector and eventually the multiplicity of pilot programs will disappear because all schools will start on the same level. MENFP has neither the means nor the institutional capacity to guarantee access to basic education for all, as enshrined in the 1987 Constitution. NEXT STEPS: International donors, NGOs, and the private sector of Haiti will need to: a) Assist MENFP to better deliver quality educational services and assume its role as regulator of Haitis education system.
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b) c)

Strengthened partnership and built capacity of the MENFP to provide quality education for children directly and indirectly affected by the earthquake. Increase the capacity of MENFP to manage public funds in a transparent and fully accountable manner through intensive capacity building.

III.

Inclusion of Children with Special Needs

A high proportion of the injured people will be permanently disabled. Exact numbers are not known yet, but measures will need to be planned, to cater to the specific needs of this group, including counseling, medical care (to enable them to function with their limitations), and support to achieve social inclusion and to ensure disabled children access to education. Some of these measures need to be taken in the immediate future and others in the medium term. Haiti recognizes the importance of inclusive education; however, many children with special needs remain out of school. Many Haitian children with disabilities are educated apart from their peers and placed in inferior educational settings that greatly reduce their chances of becoming productive members of society and serve to increase their isolation. Children with mild disabilities are rarely mainstreamed into normal classrooms; many spend their entire childhood in full-time residential homes and experience lasting negative consequences into adulthood. This comes at a time when many nations worldwide have already adopted and implemented comprehensive education policies of inclusion. Without immediate attention to fundamental educational disadvantages facing children with disabilities, Haitis special-needs children will continue to have unequal access to education. ON-GOING STEPS: MENFP, NGOs and local organizations need to continue to support the following efforts: a) Psycho-social support and legal protection should be provided through local capacities. (Local private sector organizations such as COSPE, FONHEP, FOKAL)
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b) Awareness raising and training on child rights and child protection should be carried out targeting all concerned actors. IV. Involvement of the private sector The private sector should not wait for subsidies from the Government because the budget cannot meet all the needs of the educational system. Thus, there needs to be a merging of capabilities by level and we need to develop synergies in the sector. Schools might need to merge to be more productive and effective. NEXT STEPS: MENFP and the private sector of Haiti will need to support the following: a) Private/public boards should be formed to co-manage certain critical public services. These boards would be transitory with specific end dates, but could be continued if all parties so desired. There should be a simultaneous program to build the capacity of the MENFP. b) The private sector can provide managerial skills, knowledge and other resources through private-public boards to advise the public sector or co-manage some activities. V. Development of a clear plan to rebuild the educational system of Haiti All sectors should work towards the Education for All (EFA) goal of providing six years of quality education to all children. Due to the present situation in Haiti, the 2015 goal is unrealistic. The education cluster has put in place the following executable plan to move Haiti towards this goal: Short term (many of these actions are already undertaken by various actors in the education sector):
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i. ii. iii. iv. v. vi. i. ii. iii.

MENFP is conducting inspection of schools and assessment of damages (on-going) Psychosocial support; Provide support and salary for teachers; School feeding programs (on-going); Identify source of funding (on-going); Prepare parents & communities for back to school; Teacher Training: focus on building and expanding local capacity (ongoing); Curriculum revision (on-going); Creation of a risk mitigation plan by the MENPF to reduce impact of future disasters (on-going); Quality of education; Develop a plan for all levels: pre-school, fondamentale, secondary, professional and higher-education; Sources of funding will have to be identified and will need to include private donors and address areas such as salaries that are usually not funded; Proposal for organizing schools by town. (see Annex I)

Mid-Term:

Long Term: i. ii. iii.

iv.

ON-GOING STEPS: MENFP and the private education sector assisted by NGOs and international donors will need to put the plan in action.
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VI.

Constraints

The Haitian governments role in primary education is uniquely low from a global perspective. Of the worlds poorest countries, Haiti is the only one in which more than 50 percent of children are enrolled in non-state schools. The following are some of the key constraints to the development of the education sector in Haiti: Human Capital There are on-going efforts from the MENFP, UN agencies NGOs and private sector to identify teachers. There are already some rapid teacher training programmes happening in non-affected areas. In general, private schools do not have enough human resources and enough revenues to properly support the different levels and to give a decent salary to teachers and employees. Community participation Key participant in this sector for the success of the reconstruction efforts and it is essential to preserve existing social networks that form the basis of support and mutual aid among the affected households. Local communities will need to be actively involved in the decision-making for and implementation of reconstruction activities, including decisions about rebuilding and possible relocation of schools. NGOs/International donors NGOs and donors should operate and assist all actors in the education sector in Haiti within their specialty and capacity: assist in building schools, management of recreational and sport spaces, assisting in training teachers, assisting in curriculum development and normalizationetc.
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 Financial If parents are unable to pay for tuition, how will the private schools survive? Already the government is having difficulty to pay its employees on time as a result of the earthquake and its inability to collect taxes and tariffs. An MENFP team has conducted a rapid audit of damage to the education sector, the results of which are due to be available in the coming days. NEXT STEPS: MENFP and the private education sector assisted by NGOs and international donors will need come up with innovative solutions to these constraints. Conclusion From the onset of this paper, I mentioned the achievements of dialogue and cooperation between the various sectors that have a vested interest in improving the quality of education in the public and private sectors in Haiti. Unfortunately after the earthquake, the private education sector does not seem able to find a voice and demonstrate clearly that it can articulate a plan of recovery as a group. Initiatives are being taken on the ground by NGOs and MENPF. If the private sector gives way to hopelessness and despair, it risks missing the opportunity to assert its importance and know-how.

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ANNEX I - Proposal for the town of Delmas: 105 Neighborhoods In order for schools to be financially viable, private schools had a tendency to rely on quantity and embrace all sections from preschool to high school. Even if a school principal has a strong will, the immensity of his tasks are usually beyond his capabilities. The fact that a great number of schools were destroyed, together with school furniture and materials, will hopefully encourage the private sector to be more effective. It could re-organize on the basis of dividing the different sections and grouping them by sectors. The goal of the following plan is to send all children to school and to assist in determining the number of schools by levels. The plan is as follows:

Phases 1st Phase 2nd Phase

3rd Phase 4th Phase

5th Phase

Description of Tasks Create a learning center (Centre Scolaire) per neighborhood. Divide each neighborhood learning center in the following sections: Nursery: 0 - 3 years old Pre-school: 3 - 6 years old; Fondamentale 1st cycle: 6 - 8 years old Fondamentale 2nd cycle: 8 - 11 years old Secondaire 1st cycle: 11 - 14 years old Secondaire 2nd cycle: 14 - 17 years old Private school owners of each category should meet and come to an agreement to merge, and open one school in each section. Each of these new schools would have to operate two sessions: one in the morning that would be for profit and another session in the afternoon that would be free. Authorities will have time to rebuild and reorganizes the state schools deeply damaged or completely destroyed.
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6th Phase

Private schools would qualify for exemptions from taxes, but should accept supervision from the MENPF and will need to meet the standards fixed for school buildings, construction supervision, maintenance of school, and sports and recreational spaces.

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ANNEX II - Sources Consulted EFA FTI. 2009. Working More Effectively in 2009 and Beyond. Washington DC. EFA FTI. March 2009. Governance of the Parnership. Washington DC. Haitian Government. 2010. March 1st, 2010 Report, http://haitiseisme2010.gouv.ht/. Haiti. Ministry for Education and Professional Formation (MENFP). March 2008. Evaluation de la Stratgie Nationale dAction pour lEducation pour Tous de la Republique dHati et son Plan de Mise en Oeuvre. Port-au-Prince. IASC. January 2010. Guidance Note for Mental Health and Psychosocial Support, Haiti Earthquake Emergency Response. INEE. March 2009. Guidance Notes on Teacher Compensation in Fragile States, Situations of Displacement and Post-Crisis Recovery. INEE. IRC. 2010. Haiti Earthquake: Lessons learned and essential questions. Haiti. One Response. 2010. Notes of Cluster Meetings in Port au Prince: February 19 th, February 2nd, January 24th. http://oneresponse.info/Disasters/Haiti/Education/Pages/default.aspx. Haiti. One Response. 2010. Notes of Cluster Meetings in Jacmel: Education and Protection Cluster Meeting 30 January 2010. http://oneresponse.info/Disasters/Haiti/Education/. Haiti. One Response. 2010. Notes of Cluster Conference Call with Global partners: January 22 nd and February 9, 2010. http://oneresponse.info/Disasters/Haiti/Education/Pages/default.aspx. Haiti. UNICEF. July 2009. Education en Situation dUrgence: Le Cas du Prou, Sminaire de formation sur les normes minimales pour lEducation en situation durgence, de chrise chronique et de dbut de reconstruction. Haiti.

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UNICEF. 2009. Guide pour lattention des enfants de moins de trios ans dans une situation durgence. Lima. UNICEF. 2007. The Participation of Children and Young People in Emergencies: A Guide for Relief Agencies, based largely on experiences in the Asian tsunami response. (UNICEF). UNICEF. February 2010. Haitis Greatest Resource - Ensuring the Participation of Children and Young People in Recovery Efforts (UNICEF) WOLFF, Laurence. Education in Haiti - The Way Forward. Partnership for Educational Revitalization in the Americas. September 2008

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