A September 12, 2026 online gathering between senior Haitian education officials and hundreds of trainee teachers has brought new hope to education sector interns who have waited months for rightfully owed stipend payments. Hosted by Minister of National Education and Vocational Training (MENFP) Vijonet Déméro, the meeting brought together probationary trainees from the Port-au-Prince-based Training Center for Fundamental Education (CFEF) and graduate students from the École Normale Supérieure (ENS), alongside top ministry leadership including MENFP Human Resources Director Dr. Jean Ricot Docteur, Ministry Administrator Rousseau Dumond Larionne, Departmental Education Directorates Coordination Unit Coordinator Ernest Clergé, and CFEF Administrative Director Jacques Ronald Jean.
The working session was convened specifically to address a long-running backlog: dozens of trainees that had already completed required probationary periods, internship hours, and all required reporting documentation, but had yet to receive their final payment checks. For the first time, participants gave students a direct platform to ask questions about their individual file statuses and raise concerns about processing delays.
During the open discussion, Minister Déméro reaffirmed the Haitian government’s full commitment to fulfilling its financial obligations to the trainee educators, restating the promise he first made during a September 7, 2026 appearance on Radio Caraïbes’ popular talk program *Premye Okazyon*. He stressed that resolving the backlog is a top priority for his ministry, and emphasized his determination to wrap up the entire process in the shortest possible timeline.
Dr. Jean Ricot Docteur, the ministry’s human resources director, provided a key update to attendees: all required administrative approvals and document sign-offs were completed as of September 4, 2026, clearing the final bureaucratic hurdle that had stalled the payment process. Per directives issued by Minister Déméro, he confirmed that eligible trainees should be able to collect their owed checks within the week of the meeting.
Ministry Administrator Rousseau Dumond Larionne echoed this commitment, pledging to work closely with Dr. Jean Ricot Docteur to cut through any remaining red tape and deliver payments to eligible trainees as quickly as possible. To keep the process moving, Larionne announced that he would schedule a follow-up meeting with the Ministry of Finance’s public accountant on September 14, 2026, to coordinate final processing steps and remove any remaining interdepartmental barriers.
For the trainee educators who completed their required service months ago, the meeting marks a long-awaited breakthrough. After months of uncertainty while waiting for owed compensation, the clear timeline and official commitments from top ministry leadership have left the group optimistic that the backlog will be resolved imminently.