December 17, 2009 – The Positive Impact and Importance of U.S. Basic Education Assistance in Haiti
Summary
Approximately a month before the devastating earthquake in Haiti, the Basic Education Coalition held a congressional briefing on December 17, 2009, to discuss the status of basic education in the country. The briefing took place from 2-3:30 pm in 2103 Rayburn House Office Building.
Even before the earthquake, progress toward achieving Education for All has been particularly slow in Haiti, where education statistics are the worst in the Western Hemisphere. With an adult literacy rate of 52% and primary school enrollment rates below 65%, access to education is a key obstacle to social and economic progress. The prohibitive cost of school fees kept many children out of school – according to UNESCO, 500,000 children ages six to eleven were not attending school in 2005. At the same time, the quality of teaching and learning environments in many Haitian schools was unregulated and in desperate condition.
Speakers
- Stephen Moseley – Chairman, Basic Education Coalition
- Renold Telfort – Director of Basic Education, Haitian Ministry of Education
- Bayard Lapommeray – Cabinet Member, Haitian Ministry of Education
- Peter Holland –The World Bank
- Francine Agueh – American Institutes for Research
- Bill Canny – Catholic Relief Services
- Luis Crouch – RTI International
Fact sheet
Learn more about basic education projects in Haiti this fact sheet prepared for the briefing.
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