Education in Haiti

In Haiti, children begin school at age three and complete three years of schooling before starting grade one and entering primary school, which lasts six years. In order to move on and continue through secondary school, students must pass government-standardized tests before Grades 7, 9, 12 and 13. However, for many students, it is not this test that poses the greatest roadblock to their education:

It is the cost of schooling.

While costs for education vary greatly in Haiti, most primary schools cost around $10 per student for attendance. Unfortunately, this fee triples for admission into secondary school, amounting to a financial burden that most students are unable to afford. As such, secondary schools see an enormous reduction in attendance. UNICEF estimates that from 2005-2009, Haitian primary schools saw an attendance rate of 48% for males and 52% for females, which fell dramatically in secondary schools to a mere 18% for males and 21% for females.

These statistics demonstrate the harrowing effect of educational costs on secondary schooling in Haiti. Bright and able young Haitians are excluded from obtaining the education they deserve merely because they do not possess the necessary financial means.

This thus provokes a dire cycle:

Poverty prevents students from receiv ing the education needed to earn higher wages, which leads to lower GDP and further poverty across the nation.

Secondary education is a critical component to alleviating the widespread suffering poverty causes in Haitian society, and in order to truly aide the Haitian people the obstacles to secondary education must be removed.

What we do

This is where Poverty Resolutions comes in. We are committed to partnering with organizations that are already working to rectify the educational system in Haiti. Our goal is to support multiple schools across the country so that they may provide better education to more Haitian students. It is our mission to raise funds to help reduce the financial burden that is preventing intelligent children from realizing their full potential.

We look to fund education in Haiti through several channels:

First and foremost, we sponsor educational scholarships for Haitian students. Funds we raise will go directly to paying the cost of schooling for children who are otherwise unable to do so, opening doors and opportunities to new generations of Haitians.
We also seek to provide supplies such as books and paper to financially-strapped schools, tools that are necessary to improve the level of education across the country.
Finally, we aim to facilitate the transmission of effective teaching strategies by sponsoring teacher exchanges, workshops and conferences so that successful educators may share their wisdom and insight.

Meet our Schools: Click here to discover the schools we have partnered with and to learn how you can support ambitious Haitian students.