National State Exam Laureates Honored, a Celebration of Intelligence

Port-au-Prince, November 15, 2025 — The Haitian State paid tribute, this Friday, November 14, 2025, to the national laureates of the State exams for the 2024-2025 academic year, through a ceremony marked by a diplomatic presence. This event highlighted the importance given to academic excellence in a difficult national context. A Celebration of Intelligence and Merit The eight laureates honored this year are: Thalantina Rozier, Frédéric-Léonel François, Leguirne Brévil, Robinho Julien, Mélissa Samedi, Christina Laguerre, Jephté Pierre, and Christelle Angerville. The top laureate, Thalantina Rozier, honored her teachers for their support throughout her journey. For her, “This moment is not an achievement but a starting point. An invitation to continue this path of effort, integrity, and commitment.” Fils-Aimé: The Central Role of Education During the ceremony, Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé honored the eight national laureates of the 2024-2025 academic year, commending them as “young talents, models of excellence and academic effort.” He also reiterated his administration’s commitment to supporting school-aged youth: “Education is not an expense, but the most precious investment for the future of our country.” Alongside Presidential Advisor Smith Augustin and the Minister of National Education, Antoine Augustin, he recalled that this initiative responds to the government’s desire to “recognize, support, and promote academic excellence in Haiti” and to reaffirm “the central role of education in national development.” Prime Minister Fils-Aimé, emphasizing the “importance of academic excellence,” praised the students whose performances, according to him, reflect “the rigor, determination, and capacity for innovation of Haitian youth.” He reaffirmed the State’s commitment to consolidating a culture of merit based on “work, integrity, and the ambition to serve the Nation.” Smith Augustin: A National Budget Focused on Education Presidential Advisor Smith Augustin praised the laureates’ rigor and urged them to “remain role models for youth.” He emphasized that their success marks “the beginning of a long series of victories in their lives.” He also announced that, despite the difficulties, education constitutes the State’s major budgetary priority: Allocating the largest share of the 2025-2026 finance law’s budgetary appropriations to education, representing 16% of the total amount, or over 54 billion Gourdes, he nevertheless recalled the need for a collective effort to “raise the average success rate in State exams.” Pedrica Saint Jean: Promoting Equality and Female Leadership The Minister for Women’s Affairs and Women’s Rights, Pedrica Saint Jean, also paid tribute to the laureates, congratulating young people whose success “is not just yours! It is that of your families, your teachers, your communities, and the entire nation.” She emphasized the efforts made by girls in a country where school dropout particularly affects adolescents: “These young girls whose success illuminates our collective future […] Your presence here is living proof that efforts undertaken to promote girls’ retention in school are bearing fruit.” The Minister also referred to Sustainable Development Goal No. 4, recalling that “a nation cannot prosper without equitable access to quality education.” She concluded by calling on the laureates to continue their journey “with dignity, confidence, and ambition.” Scholarships, Bonuses, and Awards for Laureates The Minister of National Education praised the perseverance and triumph of the laureates. “This ceremony is not just a celebration of intelligence but the expression of effort and merit. Your achievement symbolizes the image of Haitian youth who have suffered so much,” affirmed Antoine Augustin. The Minister of Education, Antoine Augustin, confirmed the granting of scholarships offered by the Embassy of Taiwan to the laureates. They also received various prizes, including books, a laptop, an honorary certificate, and a check ranging between 150,000 and 500,000 gourdes. Youth Celebrated as the Spearhead of Change Through these various tributes, the Haitian State affirms its desire to build an educational system that is “efficient, inclusive, and resolutely future-oriented,” convinced that today’s laureates constitute “the driving force that will advance the country towards greater equity, knowledge, and stability.” In their respective speeches, the authorities highlighted the role of this new generation, called upon to contribute to a “stronger, more just” State, and to become the women and men capable of “transforming their country.” The eight laureates each received awards from several institutions including Sunrise, MEF, AAN, AGD, BNC, BRH, FNE, Comme Il Faut, UNIBANK, SOGEBANK, TCL. At the end of the ceremony, the Minister for Women’s Affairs, Pedrica Saint Jean, presented each laureate with a tablet intended to support their academic work.