Haiti Intensifies Back-to-School preparations ahead of september 7 reopening

Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé met with education officials from Haiti’s southern departments in Les Cayes on Friday, August 14, as the government pushed to lock in preparations for the new school year set to begin September 7.

The meeting, held alongside Education Minister Vijonet Déméro, brought together local authorities, school directors and teachers from the Grand Sud region. The Prime Minister’s office said the gathering underscored the government’s determination to prepare aschool year “in the best possible conditions,” with students placed at the center of its priorities.

Fils-Aimé praised what he called the courage, resilience and dedication of Haitian teachers, describing them as pillars of the country’s education system and its future. Alongside Déméro, he handed nomination letters to newly appointed departmental education directors for the Sud, Sud-Est, Nippes and Ouest, a move framed as part of a broader effort to strengthen governance within the school system.

The Prime Minister also announced support measures for teachers and parents heading into the 2026-2027 academic year, though further details were not immediately released.

The Les Cayes meeting capped atwo-day tour of the South by the Prime Minister. On Thursday, he inaugurated the rebuilt Baptist School of Melinette in Aquin, destroyed in the August 2021 earthquake and reconstructed with support from Compassion International, and met separately with Cardinal Chibly Langlois, Bishop of Les Cayes, to discuss the Catholic Church’s role in the search for solutions to the country’s challenges.

Education Minister Déméro confirmed September 7 as the official start date in late July, saying the calendar was set in consultation with the Prime Minister’s office and education sector partners. The ministry has laid out a broader accompaniment plan for the year, including distribution of the “Liv Inik” textbooks, schoolkits, uniforms and furniture; financial allocations for some families to offsetback-to-school costs; expanded school canteen support; and solar energy installations at select schools.

The ministry also plans to open six new public high schools, in Onaville, Coq-Chante, Bellamy, Brésilienne, Tamarin and Les Abricots, and to create nine Higher Technical Education Centers designed to extend access to post-secondary education in the regions. Preschool and the first two cycles of fundamental school remain free of charge in public schools, and the ministry has called on private schools to avoid excessive tuition increases this year.

“Through these actions, the government reaffirms its determination to make the start of the school year a moment of hope, dignity and new opportunity for every Haitian child, “ the Prime Minister’s office said in a statement following the Les Cayes meeting.