In Haiti, more than 85% of basic schools are private, as well as 94% of preschools. The private sector controls 90% of the system. 37% of children 36-59 months old do not attend a preschool program (UNICEF, 2017). Only 5% of people with disabilities are part of the education system.

The Haitian state does not fully assume its responsibilities for education. The low rate of public schools is a real "social crime" against children, youth, and adults from marginalized and vulnerable backgrounds. The violation of the right to education is manifested in the lack of equity, discrimination against girls and women, discrimination against the mother tongue, lack of training for teachers, lack of learning materials and infrastructure.

One of the main challenges of education in Haiti is the development of the public education system to make a quantitative and qualitative shift in favor of the predominantly poor population. This requires the systematic promotion of the human right to education and public education.

This would allow us to address in depth many other concerns such as the quality of education, starting with a better place for Haitian Creole in education, national financing of education and inclusion. This challenge cannot be met without a sufficient and qualified mobilization of the marginalized and vulnerable social sectors and a great alliance of solidarity of civil society organizations and the population. This does not yet exist.

These concerns and perspectives are in line with the commitments of the Strategic Plan 2025, theSDG 4 and the Education Out Loud program.

The project aims to contribute to improving the capacity to demand the realization of the human right to education and the development of the public education system with a gender equality approach in Haiti. The project intends to strengthen the capacities and sensitize the actors at the local level and the entire population as holders of this right. These actions aim to help the holders of the right to education and their allies to better demand the holders of the obligations to respect and fully guarantee this right.

The following achievements of the project contribute to the objectives: 

1. Women, youth, peasants, men and women, from poor urban areas of the population in the communes and departments express their opinions through public statements on the situation of education in relation to the emergency situation (pandemic, natural disasters, violence and insecurity of armed gangs and against the violation of their right to education in the communes.
2. The trained and strengthened organizations elaborate and present recommendation documents to the local and national authorities for the realization of the right to education in the municipalities and in the country from a gender perspective.
3. The National Education Coalition (REPT) takes up at the national level the positions and recommendations produced by the organizations at the local level, produces reports on educational policies from the perspective and strengthens itself organizationally.

The first phase of the project was implemented in 2020-2021 with support from Education Out Loud of 32.265 USD.