Back to school was suspended due to insecurity, inflation and fuel shortage, which complicates travel. In July 2022, the inflation rate reached 29 %. Prices, especially school supplies, have continued to climb.
Le Monde with AFP
The Haitian authorities have announced the postponement of a month of the start of the school year on the background of an economic crisis which made prices flambé, in particular school supplies, and a fuel shortage. “The Ministry of National Education brings to the attention of the public that the start of the school year for the academic year 2022-2023 is now set for Monday October 3, 2022”, instead of September 5, said a statement published Friday, August 26 .
The text gives no reason to this postponement, but the ministry says that a new school calendar will be made public and that the number of regulatory class days will be respected. Contacted by the France-Presse agency, the ministry was not reachable in the immediate future.
Many Haitians have wondered in recent weeks if the start of the school year could take place on the scheduled date due to insecurity, inflation and fuel shortage, which complicates travel.
29 % inflation
In July 2022, the inflation rate reached 29 %, according to data from the Haitian Institute of Statistics and Computer Science (IHSI). Consequently, the prices of basic necessities are constantly climbing, just like those of school supplies.
If the decision of the Ministry of Education was expected by many, the Coordinator of the National Union of Normaliens and Educators of Haiti, Kenson Délice, deplored that the authorities have not announced measures to allow a Back to school in better conditions within a month. “The government is content to announce the postponement of the start of the school year without saying what it intends to do to relieve the misery of the population, solve the problem of insecurity and make the fuel available,” he denounced.
Haiti has also been stuck in a political crisis for several years and the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in 2021 deeply aggravated the situation. The gangs also enjoy a large impunity and the violence has multiplied in recent years.