BOGOTA (AlertNet) - Slow progress in clearing rubble from school sites and a lack of structural engineers to check the safety of buildings mean the Haitian government's goal to reopen all schools by April is looking increasingly unreachable, aid agencies say.
The Jan. 12 quake that devastated the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince and surrounding cities destroyed thousands of schools and left millions of children without a place of study.
Two months on, debris still needs to be cleared and schools need to be examined but there is a lack of earth-moving equipment in the country and there are not enough government inspectors or engineers to assess the damage.
"It's quite a tall order," said Jordan Naidoo, senior education advisor at UNICEF, of the government's target. "ItÂ?s possible to get 20 to 30 percent of tents and temporary structures ready in March and getting the rest ready will possibly take the entire next month and into May."
"The crux of getting children back to school on April 1st is being able to move that rubble as soon as possible," added Naidoo, who recently visited Haiti.
With over 80 percent of schools destroyed or damaged in quake-affected regions - adding up to some 5,000 schools - nearly 3 million children do not have a school to attend, according to government estimates.
Parents want to send children back to school and children are keen to return to study again, say international aid agencies, but Haitians question the safety of the remaining schools after strong aftershocks.
LACK OF SPACE
In Haiti's densely populated capital, finding any space to build new schools and clearing existing sites are major obstacles in the rebuilding effort.
"Some schools sat on the entire property and now thereÂ?s rubble on every inch of school grounds," said Naidoo.
This could mean thousands of schools in and around Port-au-Prince remain closed for months.
While the debris is slowing cleared, a process the government estimates will take at least three years, the Haitian ministry of education is working with international aid agencies to build temporary schools mainly using large tents.
Hundreds of classroom tents and designated play and learning areas are being set up near or inside the 400 or so makeshift settlements where hundreds of thousands of homeless quake survivors are living. Children often attend lessons for around two hours a day with teachers working several shifts.
UNICEF and other international aid agencies are also providing camps with school kits containing teaching materials, stationery, and games, along with soap and water containers to promote hygiene.
Camp committees and leaders are identifying trained teachers.
"There are many teachers living in settlements who want to teach and are acting on their own initiative to take part in Haiti's recovery and future," said Naidoo.
SCHOOLS KEY TO RECOVERY
With around 40 percent of Haiti's population of 9 million under the age of 15, getting children back to school and providing some sort of temporary schooling is crucial to the country's recovery and to alleviating psychological trauma in the aftermath of the quake, aid agencies say.
Schools allow communities to regain a sense of normal life.
"Getting children back to school provides continuity and normalcy for children who have been highly traumatised," said Naidoo. "It gives children a sense of security and connection with their future and a regular routine."
It is also one way of ensuring children receive food and have access to clean water.
Even before the quake, getting children to school was a major challenge in Haiti. Poverty and a lack of state-run schools and qualified teachers have meant traditionally low school enrolment rates across the country. Just over half of primary school-age children are enrolled in school and less than 2 per cent of children finish secondary school, according to government figures.
Over the years, Haiti's education system has been dominated by private-run schools often charging exorbitant fees that have excluded the majority of Haitians - living on less than two dollars a day - to attend.
International donor agencies, including the Inter-American Development Bank, see the quake as an opportunity to improve and overhaul Haiti's education system and build new schools that comply with quake-resistant building codes.
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