Ei-iE

Together, Haiti’s President and Minister of National Education joined hundreds celebrating World Teachers’ Day in a ceremony organised by the Confédération Nationale des Educatrices et Educateurs d’Haïti (CNEH), a national affiliate of Education International.

Teachers from across Haiti flocked to the ceremony, held 6 Oct at the National School Republic of the United States of America in the capital, Port-au-Prince, to hear from leaders of government and education. The President of the Republic, Michel Joseph Martelly, reminded those present of the commitments made by his government with regard to improving teachers' conditions.

Paul Gomis, the UNESCO representative in Haiti, also delivered a joint message marking World Teachers’ Day (WTD) on behalf of UNESCO, Education International (EI), and the International Labour Organisation (ILO).

Education for all not achieved

“Our world needs total commitment! Total commitment is strongly emphasised in the open letter from educators around the world to the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon,” said Lourdes Edith Joseph Delouis, Secretary General of CNEH. She made it clear, that despite the advancements made, the work carried out to date on achieving the fundamental goal of education for all has been insufficient, since 60 million children throughout the world are still not in school. Citing teacher shortages, she made clear that Haiti needs roughly 100,000 more teachers to improve quality.

Joseph Delouis, reading from Education International’s open letter to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, reiterated the three pillars of quality education:

• Quality teachers
• Quality tools for teaching and learning
• Quality teaching and learning environments

Disappearance of teaching profession

In her address, Magalie Georges, principal of the National School Republic of the United States of America, and Deputy Secretary General of CNEH, said that although her school is one of the best in Haiti, there remain many challenges to tackle.

“Despite the fact there are many reasons to be happy, such as the pass rate for official examinations, every day I witness the suffering of parents who are told there are no more places," she said. "I would like a lot of things, but must admit that compared to other people, my circumstances are bearable.”

EI: Sustainable development needs quality education

In a statement, EI General Secretary Fred van Leeuwen said that the message from colleagues in Haiti on World Teachers' Day highlighted the “urgent necessity for quality education for all in order to achieve sustainable development in any society and any country”