Haiti opens education office to serve 4 Northwest communes
The office inauguration comes as the region continues to face broader education challenges, including inadequate school infrastructure, difficult working conditions for teachers and limited access to public services in rural communities. Residents and education officials said having a government off
PORT-DE-PAIX — Residents in Haiti’s Northwest Department have welcomed the opening of a new education office in Jean-Rabel, saying the move will make government services easier to reach for communities that have long had to travel miles to Port-de-Paix for administrative needs.
On Sept. 25, the Ministry of National Education and Vocational Training (MENFP) officially established the sub-divisional education office to serve Jean-Rabel, Môle-Saint-Nicolas, Bombardopolis and Baie-de-Henne, bringing services closer to residents in the lower Northwest— not just new jobs.
“We cannot simply focus on the new positions created by this sub-departmental division,” said Wilner Julmisse, deputy departmental director of education, in his inaugural speech. “Instead, we need to get to work to ensure that educational services reach communities at the local level.”
Julmisse’s comment reflects what many families, teachers, school administrators and students think. For them, the change is more than an administrative adjustment. It means fewer difficult trips over poorly maintained roads, less time and money spent reaching the departmental capital and quicker access to services such as administrative records, data processing, school monitoring and the administration of official examinations.
“This sub-departmental office is extremely useful for the education community because it will make it easier to process data and will help reduce the workload of the departmental education office.”
Wilfred Lordéus, Inspector in the Môle-Saint-Nicolas school district
The office inauguration comes as the region continues to face broader education challenges, including inadequate school infrastructure, difficult working conditions for teachers and limited access to public services in rural communities. The new office is part of the ministry’s effort to decentralize education services in a department where one departmental education office in Port-de-Paix previously served all 10 communes.
A welcome change for residents as decentralization brings new expectations
For residents of Jean-Rabel, Môle-Saint-Nicolas, Bombardopolis, and Baie-de-Henne, reaching the departmental education office in Port-de-Paix —a distance of up to 70 miles, depending on where someone departs—made routine administrative procedures time-consuming.
In Jean-Rabel, the new office is designed to cut travel distance by more than half, giving residents and education workers in these four communes a closer point of access.
Wilfred Lordéus, an inspector in the Môle-Saint-Nicolas school district, said the new office will help both communities and the department’s education administration.
“This sub-departmental office is extremely useful for the education community because it will make it easier to process data and will help reduce the workload of the departmental education office,” Lordéus said.
He added that, if it’s equipped to be effective, the office could also improve the organization of official examinations at the elementary and secondary levels, which he said often faced significant logistical difficulties.
“The MENFP made the right choice by deciding to decentralize this service,” Lordéus rejoiced.
For residents, the benefit is straightforward: services that once required a trip to the departmental capital will now be available closer to home.
“I am very happy that we will be able to handle many administrative matters without traveling to Port-de-Paix,” said Ricksen Julien, a father with two students at public high school Louis Joseph Janvier in Jean-Rabel.
“Education should not be a luxury. It is not normal for rural areas of the Northwest Department to lack access to educational services or for the necessary conditions, both in terms of materials and services, not to be in place,” he added.
Nestor Nelson, 57, a Jean-Rabel resident, also agreed.
“The minister of education made a good decision by establishing an office in the region. In the past, access to certain education services was not easy,” Nelson said.
The Northwest Departmental Education Directorate (DDENO), led by Henry Dolciné, also supported the initiative.
“The directorate I lead reaffirms its support for the Departmental Education Directorate of Lower Northwest (DDE-BNO) for a decentralized education administration that is closer to the realities and needs of communities,” Dolciné said during the September 27 inauguration.
But residents and education officials also recognize that opening an office alone does not resolve the Northwest’s longstanding education problems. Even in Port-de-Paix, access to schools and other services is often difficult because poor road conditions and underdeveloped urban infrastructure can turn short trips for students, teachers, and parents into major obstacles.
Education system still faces major challenges
Schools across the Northwest continue to struggle with inadequate infrastructure and difficult working conditions.
Several public schools, particularly national primary schools and high schools, lack adequate facilities and materials to provide students with suitable learning environments. Teachers also face concerns over regular salary payments, calls for higher wages and the appointment of educators to fill staffing gaps.
Those problems have contributed to repeated tensions between teachers and education authorities. Teachers’ protests, organized through several union platforms, have intensified in recent years, reflecting broader frustrations within the sector.
The new office therefore arrives with high expectations from the communities it serves.
“An additional education office can create jobs. However, those already employed work under poor conditions. Leaders need to take measures to better regulate the education system,” said Guillaire Oscar, a teacher and union member for 14 years.
For residents of the lower Northwest, the office is nevertheless a welcome change that removes one barrier between their communities and the education services they need.
“The sub-departmental office’s long-term impact will depend on whether the MENFP provides it with the personnel, equipment and funding needed to operate effectively,” Lordéus said.
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Kervenson Martial is an experienced journalist currently working at Nationale D'Haiti (RNH) in Port-de-Paix since 2019. He has also been a journalist and presenter of political programs on RG80; 88.5 & 88.9 FM, and a correspondent for "l’œil info. pro" in northwestern Haiti. Kervenson studied at the Faculties of Administrative and Political Sciences at Valparaiso University and holds certificates in communication and data journalism from ISFH and UNESCO. He is fluent in French and Creole, with proficiency in English and Spanish.
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