BELIZE CITY, Thurs. July 14, 2022
According to Minister of Education, Hon. Francis Fonseca, concrete steps are currently being taken by the government to fulfill its pledge to provide free education to the students of four Southside schools as part of the “Together We Rise” education upliftment project. Minister Fonseca said today that the ministry has been engaged with these four schools in preparation for the commencement of the project in the upcoming school year.
“It’s the start of the free education policy program rollout, so it’s the pilot project for that rollout. We are starting on the Southside of Belize City with four government high schools—Gwen Lizarraga High School, Maud Williams, Excelsior, and Sadie Vernon High Schools. What this will mean for the students who attend those institutions is that they will not have to pay any tuition fees. We are also instituting in those schools, feeding programs. We’re going to provide transportation. We’re also, through our Student Welfare Unit at the Ministry of Education, engaging with the families, engaging with the school communities to make sure that we can also assist students who need basic supplies, whether it be uniforms, tennis, text (books), whatever. We’re also providing digital devices to those students who are attending those institutions,” Minister Fonseca said.
He further stated that a major part of the project will also entail the improvement of the physical structures and facilities at those institutions—a number of which are housed in buildings that are in a state of disrepair. “It’s already budgeted for, so we have the funds available, and we are absolutely excited, and we have been engaged with all of these institutions, the principals, the boards, getting ready for the new school year,” Minister Fonseca said.
According to Hon. Fonseca, the key aim of the project is to provide access to education for school-age children living in at-risk communities, many of whom have dropped out of school over the past two years of the pandemic. He said it is imperative that these students return to the classroom.
“These are at-risk communities; these schools are in at-risk communities, vulnerable communities. Over the past few years we have seen that these schools have actually been losing students; it’s amazing. We have to invest in these schools, we have to ensure that we are increasing enrollment in these institutions and providing incentives to our students in these communities to go to school. It’s critically important, so we are very, very excited about this initiative,” Minister Fonseca said.
A Cabinet release issued today indicated government’s support of a move by the Education Ministry to increase the maximum age at which school attendance is compulsory, from 14 to 16. The release states that while the government is aware that “this change will lead to other legislative and policy changes, it is a critical move to help to prepare Belizean students for life.”
In its release today, Cabinet also expressed support for the Belize Education Upliftment Project: Together We Rise and stated that they had been informed of the Belize National Curriculum Framework 2022. This framework’s priority is to build the competences of students from pre-primary to secondary level. The Cabinet brief said that the framework was developed after months of “consultations and focused effort.”
This new national curriculum is expected to be rolled out for the academic year 2022-2023.
Finally, on the education front, Cabinet indicated support of the Education Ministry’s projects that are geared toward addressing the developmental requirements of the University of Belize in order to enable the institution to meet its national mandate. Details of these specific projects were not released.