Streamlining of Teachers to Commence at Gwen Liz

Gwen Lizarraga High School formally reopened its classrooms to approximately three hundred and thirty-five students across all forms on Monday morning, officially kicking off the academic calendar for 2018.  The start of a new school year, however, is not without the requisite housekeeping.  News Five understands that a meeting was held on the same day to determine the way forward in respect of the lopsided student/teacher ratio, considering poor enrollment this go-round.  While a number has still not been confirmed, the Ministry of Education, along with the Belize National Teachers Union, agrees that the faculty will be cut down in the days ahead.  This process would allow for a reduction in the number of teachers currently employed at the institution.  According to B.N.T.U. National President Elena Smith, the restructuring would commence with a non-renewal of expired teaching licenses.

On the Phone: Elena Smith National President, B.N.T.U.

“We had a meeting with the minister yesterday and his senior officials, meaning his C.E.O., the chief, and then the C.E.O., Dr. Babb and Mrs. Domingo, you know.  So we were invited to discuss the matter of the Gwen Liz situation.  We were informed that as it relates to the matter of teachers being terminated, the administration, the principal, or the acting principal, the vice, along with the [Heads of Departments] HOD’s met yesterday.  They had been meeting throughout the course of last week to put together some sort of recommendation to the board.  Based on what the minister and his C.E.O. reported to us at the meeting yesterday afternoon that what they will be doing is looking at those teachers whose licenses would be expiring shortly and so based on their review, I guess recommendations from the school, those persons would not qualify to get any further special permits or anything to remain in the classroom, and so those persons would then eventually have to leave the system.  So that is one way lessening the number of staff.  In addition to that, there would be some persons who would be retiring and I believe that they have a few teachers who are retired/rehired and so those persons would then move out of the system because they were already retired and the persons who are reaching retirement age have not applied to continue teaching beyond the age of fifty-five and so those persons then would not qualify to continue on.”