3,000 schools closed in the West and Artibonite regions due to gangs

The start of the October school year took place under gang fire. Many public and private schools are serving as temporary shelters for displaced people

Nearly 3,000 schools located in gang controlled areas in the West and Bas-Artibonite department, are closed.

These figures, provided to AyiboPost by Yves Roblin, the director of the Ministry of National Education and Vocational Training (MENFP), highlight the failure of the authorities to contain the violence posed by the gangs.

This situation is mainly affecting high schools and public schools, which are largely made up of children from working-class backgrounds.

The West department comprises 6,857 schools, including 525 public schools and 6,332 non-public schools, according to data from the MENFP’s Education Management Information System (EMIS).

The Artibonite department comprises 2,621 schools, including 522 public schools and 2,099 non-public schools.

The start of the October school year took place under gang fire. Many public and private schools are serving as temporary shelters for displaced people.

This situation is mainly affecting high schools and public schools, which are largely made up of children from working-class backgrounds.

Institutions like the Dahomey National School, housed in the Dominican Republic National School in Delmas 12, and the Pierre Sully establishment in Delmas 16 struggle to operate in these areas controlled by Jimmy “Barbecue” Cherizier, a powerful outlaw. The establishment is threatened by armed men who are demanding its closure, the director of Dahomey, Manès Georges, told AyiboPost.

Due to the violence, there were few 1st and 2nd cycle students during the first week of opening. The 3rd cycle of the institution nevertheless is trying to keep its doors open for the children of the Solino and Village de Dieu neighborhoods.

This school has already had to move from its locale in Delmas 6 in 2019 due to gang attacks. Most children in the West and Artibonite are changing schools at an unsustainable pace.

Marck Angel Janvier, 13, lived in the Caridad area of Carrefour-Feuilles with his mother. However, the family had to flee the area after their house was burned down in a gang attack last year. The child previously attended Notre Dame de la Caridad College. He was then enrolled at the Fritz Pierre Louis high school.

He left that school again, which became inaccessible in the city center, for the École Nationale Isidore Boisrond in February 2024, during the attacks by the Viv Ansanm gang in downtown Port-au-Prince.

Today, Janvier is no longer in school. “When I see a child go to school when I can no longer do so, it makes me want to cry,” he confides to AyiboPost.

The Dominican Republic National School, previously located near Delmas 14, relocated to the École République du Canada in February 2024.

The institution, which welcomes children from the Tokyo neighborhoods of Cité Soleil, La Saline, and Pont-Rouge, could no longer operate due to attacks by the Viv Ansanm gang coalition.

“The bandits looted the space, taking away the doors, the ceramics and destroying the walls and the toilets,” Donald Damelus, director of the 3rd basic cycle of the school, explains to AyiboPost.

When I see a child go to school when I can no longer do so, it makes me want to cry,

– he confides to AyiboPost.

Insecurity also affects the Daniel Fignolé high school.

Initially located in Delmas 6, this establishment was relocated last year to the premises of the École Nationale du Canada in Delmas 3 and the Collège Immaculée Conception in Delmas 11.

This year, the school found refuge at Delmas 31 in Saint-Louis de Gonzague, then finally at Collège Immaculée Conception. “During the opening week, we had around 450 students,” explains its director, Karnold Annelas.

The Alexandre Pétion high school, located in Bel-Air, ceased its activities in 2023.

In February 2024, the establishment relocated to the premises of the American University of Modern Sciences of Haiti (UNASMOH) on Rue Christophe. Although the value of the contract with the Haitian State for the period from May to August is not specified, the State is struggling to settle its debt to UNASMOH.

The owners attempted to evict the establishment for non-payment on November 6, 2024, explains the high school principal, Carriey Derival.

Insecurity is impacting enrollments.

The Republic of Dahomey National School recorded a drop in enrollment at the start of the 2024 school year.

The institution had around 2,500 students in 2017. “For the 2023-2024 school year, we closed with 325 students,” says its director, Georges.

Teachers rarely go to the establishment due to insecurity. The Dominican Republic National School, which includes three cycles of study, went from approximately 600 students in 2023 to 200 this year.

Teachers can no longer get to school, officials report. “At Daniel Fignolé high school, we lost the majority of our students,” informs director Karnold Annelas.

The high school theoretically expects 800 students this year, a significant drop compared to around 2,000 students in 2021 and nearly a thousand in 2023.

Many students from the Alexandre Pétion high school, originally from Bel-Air, Carrefour-Feuilles, Plaine du Cul-de-Sac, and Bas-Delmas, have migrated to the provinces or abandoned school.

“In 2017, the high school had around 3,000 students, compared to half of this number today,” adds the high school director, Carriey Derival. In recent years, students have regularly lost several months of class.

For the 2022-2023 academic year, the high school operated for three months, compared to only two months for 2023-2024.

Phebe Bénisson, age 11, temporarily lives in the former locale of the Ministry of Communication in Bois Verna.

Bénisson attended the Mixte Frères Maroc institution, located at the corner of Ruelle Alerte and Magloire Ambroise. This school stopped operating after the Carrefour-Feuilles attack in August 2023.

In January this year, the child’s mother enrolled him at Fritz Pierre Louis high school. He only completed two weeks of classes at the school before it closed due to gang violence.

“At school, I played football with my friends, I worked and I learned to read, says Bénisson. Now I think I’ve forgotten everything I learned. »

The boy, in the 3rd year of basic education, wants to become an aviator. Today, he spends his days on the streets of Port-au-Prince.

By Jérôme Wendy Norestyl

► AyiboPost is dedicated to providing accurate information. If you notice any mistake or error, please inform us at the following address : hey@ayibopost.com

Keep in touch with AyiboPost via:

► Our Channel Telegram : Click here

► Our Channel WhatsApp : Click here

► Our Community WhatsApp : Click here