PORT-AU-PRINCE — Haiti’s Ministry of National Education and Vocational Training gave 30 motorcycles to a police unit tasked with protecting students facing gang violence in area schools.
“The 4 million Haitian students need a serene climate for learning to be effective,” said Minister of National Education Nesmy Manigat during the ceremony of handing over the equipment to the Educational Community Police unit (Edupol).
“The 200,000 teachers need a serene climate to carry out their profession with dignity and with the necessary motivation,” added the minister.
The motorcycles were funded by the United Nations Children’s Fund in Haiti (UNICEF). They come to the education unit at a time when insecurity is hitting schools, parents, teachers and students. The latest kidnapping is that of a parent in front of the Sainte Rose de Lima school on Avenue John Brown in Port-au-Prince on April 12.
At the beginning of March, schools such as Collège Roger Anglade, Sainte Rose de Lima, the school of the Sisters of the Sacred Heart, the institution of St John the Evangelist, the Collège Canado Haïtien had even closed their doors to protest gang violence. Bandits sent letters attached with a projectile to school officials demanding large sums of money. Teachers were injured by bullets in the classroom and some students as well.
Another kidnapping that revolted some organizations working in the field of education in Haiti. This is the case of the National Union of Normalians and Educators of Haiti (UNNOEH) which denounced the government’s inaction in the face of insecurity. For the leader of UNNOEH, Kensone Délice, this kidnapping reflects the failure of the authorities to guarantee the protection of members of the Haitian education system.
Edupol is a unit of the National Police of Haiti formed in 2015. At the beginning, Edupol’s mission was to take care of students in the streets during school hours, mediate conflicts in schools, actively participate in activities socio-educational, sensitize pupils against rape, alcohol abuse and the use of narcotics. The agents work to create an environment conducive to teaching and learning, says the Ministry of National Education and Vocational Training. Today the educational police have to deal with criminal violence.
“Along with its primary mission, which is to combat primary-type juvenile delinquency, Edupol has for some time been facing armed criminal groups who threaten to disrupt school activities,” Manigat said.
“Equipping Edupol agents to enable them to secure schools means helping children grow up in a protective environment, and continue their education in safety,” said UNICEF representative in Haiti, Bruno Maes. “Education is a pillar of stability in Haiti. When it is interrupted, social and economic life seems to stop.”
For officials, Edupol badly needs to deploy in the communes of the western region such as Port-au-Prince Carrefour, Croix-des-Bouquets and in other departments such as the North and Artibonite, where the bandits represent a threat to the education of children who demand the support of local police.
“This fleet of motorcycles will help to be more mobile and more present in the immediate perimeters of schools,” said the new head of the Educational Community Police, Commissioner Dorvil Morency.
