Increasing Access by Waiving Tuition: Evidence from Haiti

This paper examines the impact of Haiti's tuition waiver program (TWP), which provides public funding to non-public schools on the condition that they do not charge tuition fees. The program was initiated in 2007 to address financial barriers to education access in a country where the majority of schools are non-public. The study uses data from the 2002-2003 and 2011-2012 school censuses to estimate the program's effects on school enrollments, student-teacher ratios, grade advancement, and other school-level indicators. The findings suggest that the TWP has led to increased enrollment, more staff, and slightly higher student-teacher ratios in participating schools. Additionally, the program has contributed to reducing grade repetition and the proportion of over-age students.