The closure of Haitian schools due to COVID-19 in March 2020 compounded an education crisis that had already seen students lose months of instruction time due to the political protests and lockdowns of the previous year. For many Haitian students, the COVID closure came on top of an already severely disrupted academic calendar, creating a learning deficit of alarming proportions.
Unlike in many countries where school closures prompted a rapid shift to online or remote learning, Haiti’s education system had few tools for distance instruction. Internet access was limited and expensive, reaching only a fraction of the student population. Even radio-based instruction — a more accessible option given Haiti’s extensive radio coverage — required coordination and planning that the system was not prepared to implement rapidly.
Teachers who had been struggling with salary arrears and difficult conditions throughout the political crisis now faced the additional challenge of maintaining some form of connection with students and finding ways to keep learning alive during an indefinite closure. Some improvised with WhatsApp lessons and printed materials distributed through community networks.
The cumulative learning loss for Haitian students who had experienced the disruptions of both 2019 and 2020 was assessed by education organizations as potentially equivalent to an entire academic year or more. The long-term consequences for a generation of young Haitians — particularly those from the poorest families with the fewest educational alternatives — were deeply concerning.