What About Students Crossing Border for School?

Patrick Faber

At the top of the newscast, we told you that the Ministry of Education is looking at August tenth to reopen schools. The ministry says that it will be putting a number of measures in place to transition into the new normal of education during a pandemic. But while the country gets ready for August, what will happen when it comes to those students who cross the border to attend school in Belize? Students from Guatemala and Mexico enter the country five days a week to do school, with a couple hundred crossing the western border alone. So how will that be dealt with? Here’s what Minister of Education, Patrick Faber had to say:

Patrick Faber, Minister of Education

“As we stand today it is not something that we need to be worried about because these students are not coming across, the borders are closed. Now how long the borders remain closed is a question and will the borders be open at the time of the reopening of schools when the children are to come on August tenth. And if that is the case that the borders will be open, yes we have a plan for that and we will have to take precautions in those schools and we have to take precautions in terms of those students crossing that border on a daily basis. I am sure that the health authorities support the Ministry in ensuring that is the case because as your concern is that this can cause cases to be imported in our schools. For those who criticize that why have the schools not open back well because if the children become carriers then they would go home and take it to their families and we have to be very concerned about that. If that would be the situation once school reopens on August tenth and children are allowed back into the country from across the border then precautions are in place to ensure that they are properly sanitized or we know what is happening in their home situation before they are allowed back into the country.”