A comprehensive national education census conducted during the 2024-2025 academic year has revealed critical insights into Haiti’s school system, highlighting an overwhelming dependence on private institutions. The survey, organized under the theme ‘Resansman lekòl jodi, se prepare zouti pou planifye edikasyon demen’ (School census today, preparing tools to plan education tomorrow), provides alarming statistics about educational infrastructure across the Caribbean nation.
The data indicates that Haiti’s education landscape serves approximately 4,028,897 students across all levels. The breakdown shows 861,812 children enrolled in preschool programs, over 2.6 million (2,645,319) students in primary education, and 521,766 learners in secondary institutions. The most striking finding reveals that of the 18,241 schools operating nationwide, a mere 17.7% constitute public institutions, while private establishments dominate with 82.3% market share.
This privatization trend becomes even more pronounced at the secondary level, where only 4% of the country’s 7,683 institutions are publicly managed. Geographic distribution further compounds the challenge, with 45% of secondary schools concentrated solely in the West Department, creating significant regional disparities in educational access.
The human resource component of the system includes 34,759 preschool educators and 82,180 teachers serving the first two cycles of primary education. These figures will inform strategic planning and resource allocation decisions by educational authorities.
From this extensive data collection effort, the Ministry of Education has produced several key publications: a National Yearbook of School Statistics, ten Departmental Registers, and a statistical bulletin titled ‘Haiti, Education in Figures.’ This accomplishment resulted from collaborative efforts between the Directorate of Planning and External Cooperation (DPCE), the General Directorate of the Ministry of National Education, the Education Management Information System (SIGE), and the Project Coordination Unit (UCP). The initiative received technical and financial backing from major international organizations including the Inter-American Development Bank, the World Bank, and UNESCO.
Minister of Education Augustin Antoine emphasized that effective governance—a cornerstone of the Ten-Year Education and Training Plan (PDEF/2020-2030)—requires reliable, coherent, and continuously updated information systems. The Minister has subsequently directed the DPCE team to expand data collection to include non-formal education programs and enhance existing information on higher education institutions.