In addition to the overload which makes learning difficult for these students, they require psychosocial support, which is often non-existent in the host schools.
Over the past three months, 154,000 people displaced from Port-au-Prince sought refuge in the South.
These trips – more than half a million across the country, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM) – are overwhelming local schools, which now say they can no longer handle the influx.
Despite the arrival of thousands of potential students, the Philippe Guerrier high school in Les Cayes was only able to accept thirty, according to an official.
The others are waiting, because since the earthquake of August 14, 2021, the damaged high school lacks benches and the classes are overcrowded, often with more than 60 students, explains the manager Jean Verra Charles.
The public school, operating in double shifts, receives children under a temporary shelter made of sheet metal. Sometimes there are four of them sharing benches designed for two.
These movements […] are overwhelming local schools, which now say they can no longer handle the influx.
La Grand’Anse officially welcomed 3,870 new students from Port-au-Prince, 90% of whom were at the basic level, according to the departmental management of the Ministry of National Education and Vocational Training.
The department was already faced with overcrowded classes and a shortage of benches. Among a thousand schools, 50 to 60% ask for subsidies and canteens, Marcel Jeanty, departmental director of the MENFP, reports to AyiboPost.
Currently, the sector is affected by the massive exodus of teachers. “In some schools, a teacher must manage two classes simultaneously,” notes the regional framework of the MENFP.
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In addition, most new arrivals come “without a notebook, without a certificate, without a transcript” from their previous schools.
Parents, fleeing gang violence, are often unable to obtain essential school materials, such as books or shoes. “Some people ask me for help for their children,” says Jeanty.
In certain localities, parents opt for public schools, which are already in high demand.
Most new arrivals come “without a notebook, without a certificate, without a transcript” from their previous schools.
In Limonade, only three or four public schools out of thirteen are functioning properly, according to a MENFP official.
Requests for help from these schools will persist until the end of the school year and will continue into the fall.
Read also: Back to school: more than 24 schools transformed into temporary shelters in P-au-P
Guybonce Bonnet, director of the Éducatif Moderne college in Les Cayes, invites the MENFP to address the integration difficulties of new students.
Institutions like the Collège Saint-Anne in Limonade call on NGOs. “We have found nothing so far,” laments Renan Petit-Frère, administrative director of this establishment.
Students require psychosocial support, which is often non-existent in host schools. The overload makes teaching more difficult, notes Makenson Locan, an experienced teacher in the Center department.
Some students struggle to cope despite their trauma. Psychological support initiatives will be launched by establishments such as Saint-Viateur in Gonaïves.
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However, an increase in the failure rate is possible this year, warns Benoît Michel of the Northern Inspectorate.
Par Lucnise Duquereste et Jabin Pontus
Cover image: The Lycée Philippe Guerrier des Cayes crowded with students, June 3, 2022. | © MENFP
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