With the 2026-2027 academic year set to begin across Haiti on September 7, the administration of Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé has stepped forward with a comprehensive suite of concrete initiatives to remove barriers to education for vulnerable communities, reaffirming its promise that no family will navigate the challenges of back-to-school season alone.
The full package of measures was formally presented to the public during an official press conference held Friday, September 4, 2026, crafted to address three core priorities: easing the financial strain on caregivers, upgrading learning infrastructure across the country, and ensuring a safe, secure environment for students and staff as classes resume.
Leading the financial support component is a cross-agency collaboration between the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor (MAST), the Ministry of National Education and Vocational Training (MENFP), and the National Education Fund (FNE). Through this partnership, direct financial assistance will be distributed to 130,000 school-aged children’s parents and an additional 30,000 at-risk households. For many low-income Haitian families, back-to-school costs force an impossible choice between covering educational expenses and putting food on the table; this program frames direct support as an act of national solidarity to eliminate that terrible tradeoff.
Beyond direct financial aid, the government is investing in physical upgrades to create more dignified, functional learning spaces for students. The plan includes major rehabilitation work at 52 public primary and secondary schools, the completion and opening of newly built educational facilities, the distribution of 8,000 new pieces of classroom furniture, and sustained operational support for school canteen programs that provide critical daily nutrition to students from food-insecure households. All told, these infrastructure and support measures are expected to benefit tens of thousands of members of the national educational community.
Student safety remains a top strategic priority for the administration as classes resume. The Haitian National Police (PNH) has deployed 10,750 specially assigned officers as part of a dedicated year-long security operation focused on the new school year, tasked with patrolling school zones and maintaining safe conditions for students and staff across the country. Complementing this security effort, the Ministry of Public Works is carrying out targeted infrastructure improvements to ease traffic congestion around school campuses, mitigate hazards linked to severe weather events, and enhance overall public safety in areas surrounding educational institutions.
In outlining the full package of initiatives, government officials emphasized that the program is designed to send a clear, unifying message to Haitian students, their families, and the entire education sector: school remains a fundamental space of hope, human dignity, and future opportunity for the nation’s next generation.