FNE Reform: Towards Greater Transparency and Rigor in Educational Funding

The National Education Fund (FNE) has undertaken a major structural reform aimed at restoring public trust and sustainably strengthening the funding of the Haitian education system. This direction was presented by the FNE Director General, Élysée Collagne, during the 33rd edition of Mardis de la Nation, held on Tuesday, January 20, 2026, in Port-au-Prince.

According to the official, this reform is in line with the Government's educational policy and aims to transform the FNE into a more efficient, transparent, and financially viable institution, capable of responding to the structural challenges of the education sector. It is based on principles of administrative rigor, good governance, and accountability.

Upon taking office, Élysée Collagne conducted an in-depth diagnosis of the institution, highlighting significant administrative and organizational weaknesses. To address these, the General Directorate prioritized the development of financial and accounting procedure manuals, considered essential tools for strengthening internal control.

Concurrently, a preliminary draft decree specifying the application modalities of the 2017 law establishing the FNE, as well as a draft internal regulation, were submitted to the Board of Directors for validation.

One of the flagship reforms concerns the decentralization of the grant allocation process. This responsibility, previously concentrated at the General Directorate level, has been entrusted to authorized internal structures, in a logic of collegiality and transparency. In this context, the distribution of checks has been temporarily suspended to review allocation mechanisms and prevent abuses.

Henceforth, checks for the payment of school fees will be exclusively made out to the names of educational institutions, a measure aimed at ensuring traceability and the proper use of public funds. A monitoring commission has been established to ensure the strict application of this system, in collaboration with schools, primarily targeting children from the most vulnerable backgrounds.

Out of more than 7,000 applications received, rigorous screening detected numerous irregularities. However, 543 checks will be distributed next week to beneficiaries deemed eligible.

Faced with an influx of applications far exceeding its budgetary capacities, the FNE also established a technical validation committee responsible for evaluating and selecting projects that meet established criteria. These measures were all the more necessary as the institution faced a debt of 2 billion gourdes in 2023, against an estimated account of 2.5 billion.

Thanks to what is described as rigorous management, the FNE's treasury now stands at 5.9 billion gourdes, thus offering new prospects for more credible and sustainable funding for national education.