With 120 CHF (111 €), you sponsor a year of study for a young Haitian at the University Jean Price Mars in Hinche!
With 230 CHF (214 €), you pay the quarterly salary of a teacher at the Jean Price Mars University in Hinche!
The Trois Roches primary school
This rural school located a few kilometers from Hinche, in a zone of scattered housing, has 200 pupils from 6 to 15 years.
These children are much more in need than those in the cities: their parents have great difficulty in feeding them, providing clothing and paying their education. The majority of them would not go to school without our intervention. Some children live two hours away.
The school offers them a daily hot meal.
Haiti-Cosmos thus saves them from going to the slums where they will have no choice but to become delinquents. This program encourages them to participate later in the development of their region.
The premises were restored in 2013, benches were made in 2014, and in 2015, the dining room was furnished.
The Baptiste Bethesda secondary school
In the days following the 2010 earthquake, Hinche saw the arrival of 60 000 displaced people (nearly half of the usual population of the city) from the most damaged areas. Soon, with the help of displaced teachers, Jean Claude François managed to establish a secondary school for 850 young people who found no place in the schools of Hinche. Classes started on February and were free.
As of September 2010, it was decided to ensure the financial autonomy of this school by establishing annual fees that are three times cheaper than in other nearby schools1.
The college has between 800 and 1000 students depending on the year, and 40 teachers who have been trained in the country and who live in Hinche.
The success rate at brevet examinations is generally around 95%.
For the high school diploma, the success rate is more variable (between 30% and 70% depending on the year) but generally places the school ahead of the state schools in the region. About one in two high school graduates (about ten each year) pursue higher education at the JPM University (see below).
1 : For instance, the cost of the final year class in the Haiti-Cosmos school is similar to that of the 6th year class in other schools.
Polytec, The Technical College
Founded in September 1995, Polytec provides training in:
- Accounting,
- Business management,
- Construction techniques,
- Agriculture.
The curriculum lasts two or three years depending on the nature of the course.
Polytec employs a dozen lecturers who give the various courses to about one hundred students each year.
The training provided by Polytec is recognized by the National Institute of Professional Training (INFP).
The diploma awarded for successful completion of the course is equivalent to the BTS (Bac Technique Supérieur) in France.
So far, almost a hundred students have successfully graduated from Polytec. Two former students were awarded scholarships to continue their studies in the United States and Canada; two others have become teachers within the school.
Since 2010, many of the courses of Polytec are the same as those of the first two years of the University of Hinche (see below). Graduates of the Polytec have thus the possibility of:
- either starting work immediately (most find a job easily);
- or taking a national examination;
- or continuing their studies by joining the university in the third and final year, since their Polytec diploma is equivalent to two years of university studies.
A vocational training program was established in 2017 for victims of the cyclone Matthew, which struck the island in 2016. They are land surveying trainers who hold a high school diploma. 12 young people have benefited to date from this training, which meets a need of surveyors in the Central Plateau.
The Jean Price Mars University (JPMU) of Hinche
Soon after the earthquake of 2010, the head of Haiti-Cosmos received a delegation of the university students displaced to Hinche (more than a thousand). They had heard of his action in favour of schoolchildren (see above) and they asked for his help.
Wishing to participate in the reconstruction of the country, Jean Claude François responded favourably to this request and created the first university in Hinche in 2010 by establishing an agreement with the Jean Price-Mars University of Port-au-Prince.
The UJPM brought its name and the official recognition of its competence for the issuing of an undergraduate degree (4 years) of higher education, approved by the national Ministry of Education2.
Jean Claude Francois is Vice-Rector of the university.
The Hinche UJPM has five faculties in areas of highest priority for the country:
- Economics and Social Sciences
- Civil Engineering and Architecture
- Agronomy
- Nursing
- Law.
The UJPM is the only university in the Central Plateau to propose a master in law.
In other faculties, the diploma awarded is the bachelor’s degree.
Courses started in April 2010.
Many courses in the first two years are common with those of Polytec.
Since November 2014, the courses are given in one of the magnificent buildings built in the outskirts of Hinche, in Rhodé. This building can accommodate up to 5000 students !
Jean Claude François is Vice-Rector of the University.
The UJPM has about 70 professors. The majority of them are civil servants or NGO employees.
Since its creation, the number of students has been variable: around 1000 in 2010, it has been around 600 students since 2016, as some students have returned to the capital, and others have preferred to go to the new universities that have been created in Hinche, following the initiative of Haiti-Cosmos, including that of the State, which is free, while the JPM University requires students to pay some fees (the lowest in the country).
It is a real challenge to run the UJPM with very limited financial means and for students who do not always have the means to pay their registration.
The university has two 66-seater buses for students transport.
In 2016, the University of Boston offered 14 computers to the UJPM.
In 2018, UJPM received a radiology room from the Beaulieu General Clinic in Geneva and 18 mechanized beds from the Génalier Clinic. In January 2017, 101 students from the first batch graduated: 30 in nursing, 27 in accounting, 22 in business management, 12 in agronomy and 10 in civil engineering. In 2018, 15 students graduated in Master of Laws; 13 of the 39 graduates in Nursing took the state exams to become state nurses. They all succeeded. They were able to run for positions not only in the country but also abroad.
2. The diploma of the Faculty of Nursing has been recognized in January 2016.
