Port-au-Prince, January 7, 2026.- The publication in Special Monitor No.72 of December 30, 2025 of the decree appointing the members of the Council of Higher Education and Scientific Research (CESRS) marks a decisive step in the regulation of higher education in Haiti. After decades of deregulation, the State finally makes operational the National Agency for Education and Scientific Research (ANESRS), which is called upon to guarantee the quality of training, the credibility of diplomas and their international recognition.
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For several years, Haitian higher education had evolved in an institutional vacuum characterized by the absence of evaluation, accreditation and monitoring mechanisms, despite the decree of 11 March 2020 establishing the ANESRS. This has led to the proliferation of unregulated institutions, the deterioration of the value of diplomas and the growing difficulties of international recognition, particularly at the level of master's, doctorate and medicine.
The formal appointment of the members of CESRS, the strategic governance body of ANESRS, ends more than sixty years of institutional fragility in the sector. The Council is composed of academic and scientific personalities from the State, universities, research and the productive sector, reflecting an institutional balance.
The composition of the Higher Education and Scientific Research Council reflects a desire for inclusiveness and balance between the various players in the system. It is chaired by Dr Emmanuel dit Herold Toussaint, chosen by the Executive Power, while Dr Jean Fenol Metellus, appointed by the Conference of Rectors and Presidents of Haitian Universities (CORPUHA), holds the vice-presidency. Dr. Jacques Abraham, appointed by the Minister of National Education and Vocational Training, is the High Commissioner for Higher Education and Scientific Research. The General Secretariat is entrusted to Dr Jean Judson Joseph, also chosen by the Executive. The Council also includes Dr. Evens Emmanuel, who is also a member of the board of directors of the AUF, appointed by the Haitian scientific and research associations, Dr. Ketty Balthazard-Accou, representative of the employers' associations, as well as Dr. Serge Philippe Pierre, appointed by the Executive, thus complementing a body where academic expertise, socio-economic interests and State responsibility intersect.
According to the founding decree, the ANERSRS is responsible for evaluating and monitoring public and private higher education, accrediting the fields of study, fixing the numerus clausus in saturated fields, ensuring university chancery and issuing the equivalencies of diplomas. This reform, carried out politically by the Transitional Presidential Council and notably by Emmanuel Vertilaire, aims to put an end to academic anarchy and to reposition knowledge and research as levers for national development.
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