Education in Haiti

The educational profile of Haitians would be expected to have a sad story as most people are below the poverty line. When majority of the people are poor, it really reflects that there must be a lack of educational programs or that the school system is thick with corruption.

One indicator that Haiti is really not doing well is that literacy rate is at a whopping 53%. That means almost half of its population do not know how to read and write.  Its Latin neighbors have an average literacy index of 90% but 53% just really say that the government has no effort at all to educate its citizens.

Basically, Haiti follows after the French education model where three stages are observed. The three stages are primary education, secondary education and higher education.

Usually, primary education starts at the age of 6. The primary level consist of 6 years of education and when completed gives them primary education certificate (CEP). With a CEP in hand, a student can then take examinations for secondary education. Once the entrance examination for secondary education has been passed, the student would have a choice of going in a lycee (public) or a college (private). The secondary level consists of a 3-year lower cycle and 4-year upper cycle. The first three years gives students an option to specialize in humanities and science courses or a combination of both. On the upper cycle, the last 4 years emphasizes on the classics and arts. Finishing secondary school means earning a baccalaureate.  However, only upon completion of the classe de philosophie entitles a student to proceed to a university.

After the earthquake, President Rene Preval has authorized the Inter-American Development Bank to coordinate with the Ministry of Education and the National Commission to reform the education system in a span of 5 years.