Joined together in Montreal this week, several representatives of education organizations in Quebec have had a historic meeting with Mr. Joel Desrosiers Jean-Pierre, Minister of Education and Training of Haiti, to show their solidarity the Haitian people and their commitment to work actively to rebuild the education system in Haiti.

Grouped in the Alliance Quebec to strengthen the Haitian education system (Alliance québécoise pour le renforcement du système d'éducation haïtien AQREH), the Fondation Paul Gerin-Lajoie, the Federation of the school commissions of Quebec (la Fédération des commissions scolaires du Québec QBCF), the Group for Research and Action for Haiti new (Groupe de recherche et d'action pour une Haïti nouvelle GRAHN) and several representatives from the Quebec university offered the Minister of Education of Haiti an one-stop shop to meet the needs of the Haitian people in education. The aim of the Alliance is to support and meet in a rational and coordinated way requests for Haiti to rebuild and strengthen early childhood education at the university through basic training, vocational training and technical education.

For the AQREH, the future of Haiti passes by a system of education accessible to all and of quality. Quebec, from its language and its proximity with the Haitian culture and values can contribute effectively to the rebuilding of this country, wished to testify Paul Gerin-Lajoie, chairman of the board of directors of the Fondation Paul Gerin-Lajoie, Josée Bouchard, president of the FCSQ, and Mr. Samuel Peter, Coordinator GRAHN-Monde.

The Minister of Education and Training of Haiti, Mr. Joel Desrosiers Jean-Pierre, warmly welcomed the offer of collaboration from the educational partners Quebec, by putting in priority the basic training for all the pupils starting from early childhood. He was also interested in the model of school commissions of Quebec and to have discussions about it with QBCF in order to continue the reflection to reinforce the governorship of the educational sector of its country. Professional training also constitutes an important concern for the minister.

The Minister also agreed the principle to hold a national conference on the Haitian education system and wishes a better coordination among all stakeholders to support the Haitian education system in the spirit of strengthening democratization and good governance education in his country.

BF/ HaitiLibre