Rebuilt school opens in Biscayne

When the Biscayne Government School burned down on the afternoon of June fourteenth few people believed that the educational institution would recover so quickly. But only one semester later officials and members of the community gathered to celebrate a new beginning. Patrick Jones was on hand for the event.

Dorla Wade, Principal, Biscayne Government School

“It is a landmark I should say, and it means that we can relax now and get down to work.”

Patrick Jones, Reporting

Principal of Biscayne Government School, Dorla Wade, her staff and students couldn’t wait to formally move into their new classrooms. The original building was burnt down in an apparent case of arson. Wade says that single senseless act inconvenienced an entire community.

Dorla Wade

“It is because when it rain they had to run come under the school and so they were under the veranda most of the time when it rained or in another teacher’s classroom, so it was a great inconvenience. We had to double up the classes. Two teachers had to share a classroom and Bowen and Bowen loaned us a tent and one class was underneath the tents.”

But that’s now all behind them. General Manager of Government Schools, Francis Baizar, says a huge load has been lifted off the backs of his department.

Francis Baizar, G.M., Biscayne Government School

“Boy it’s like getting back our pride and getting back our joy because Biscayne is indeed our pride and joy.”

And the excitement on the faces of the children who no longer have to double up for an education is testament of the fact that this new building, which is thirty feet longer and five feet wider than the previous one, was a necessity.

Dorla Wade

“We have four classrooms, a kitchen, and bathrooms. We have the computer room, we have two classrooms will be over there and we will have an office in one of the other classrooms.”

Minister of Education Francis Fonseca says the spirit with which villagers of Biscayne embraced the challenge of putting the school back on its feet must be commended.

Francis Fonseca, Minister of Education

“And I want to say that the entire community really rallied together very quickly. All the residents, the parents, the school principal Mrs. Wade and her staff, and we all sat at the table and we made a very clear commitment at the outset to make sure that this building would be open for January of 2004. And it has worked out very well. It has worked out very well. We put Biscayne at the top of our priority list in terms of our schools refurbishment programme and we are very, very pleased with the result.”

That result was achieved at a cost of one hundred and forty thousand dollars, with funding from government’s schools refurbishment programme. Baizar says now the school can continue to build on its educational successes over the years.

Francis Baizar

“This means a lot to us at the Ministry of Education because you see Biscayne school is a small rural multi-grade school, but has performed exceptionally well in successive years in the Primary School Examination so we are very proud and very appreciative and very happy about their successes.”

Patrick Jones, for News 5.

The Insurance Corporation of Belize donated twenty-eight thousand dollars to refurbish the kitchen and bathrooms for the school, while guest speaker Prime Minister Said Musa contributed a computer and exercise books.