Despite “free education” high schools need help
There was a time not long ago when the business community’s charitable donation of choice was a scholarship to attend a favourite high school. But when secondary education was declared free under the last government, many donors found new causes to fund. Today, with increasing school fees taking the place of tuition charges and more students entering high school…those scholarships are more welcome than ever. Jacqueline Woods reports.
Jacqueline Woods, Reporting
Each year government pays tuition fees for students attending secondary schools. But most parents would tell you that the cost of sending a child to high school is still a major strain…particularly if you have more than one. As a result, many children must work during their vacation to help meet the expense or parents apply for a loan or scholarship. Some of these scholarships are provided by members of the business community. Today, Courts Belize Limited for the first time awarded five students a four-year secondary school scholarship.
Anamarie Bennett, Advertising/Promotions Manager
“We’ve always been helping the community in more ways than one, but we feel that education is an essential tool and we should assist in anyway possible. For the four year scholarship, I wish that we could help more students because when we look at the list that came in, look at the grades that came in because there were some very good grades and we look at the financial need, it was difficult for us to make a decision. I would want to give everybody.”
The same is true of high school principals who try to help as much as possible.
David Lacey, Assistant Principal, St. John’s College
“We get quite a number of application every year especially from new students coming in to first form and into prep and we try to consider as many of them as we can. We look at the financial situation of the family, the number of students, income and so forth. And it’s long been a policy of ours that we don’t turn away students because of financial need.”
Allan Genitty, Principal, Edward P. Yorke High School
“Because Education is still expensive and if you look at a school like Edward P. Yorke High School, which is funded by the Government of Belize, you’ll find out that about ninety-seven to ninety-nine percent of the allocation that we get is really for the payment of salaries to teachers and clerical staff and the auxiliary staff. So you find out that you only have about two to three percent of allocation for other services and it’s then very important for us to charge a practical fee or a laboratory fee to help in the maintenance of our equipment in providing material and supplies for schools.”
Eleven year old Harth Gillett says, “It would have been difficult for my family to send me to high school”. Gillett who is a Courts Scholarship recipient says that the financial aid is crucial to his family.
Harth Gillett, Student, San Ignacio
“Well I have one parent working, so it would have been very difficult because it’s a temporary job and she was trying to get another one. It didn’t work out, so she had to do temporary work for my uncle.”
While Gillett and other students are lucky to receive scholarships from companies, other students are awarded work scholarships to help meet most of their expenses. Saint John’s College, a church state operated high school, every year awards fifty work scholarships to students. But principals say they would still like to see more help from the business community.
David Lacey
“It’s very important because this is the pool from which they will get their later workers and there is a broad need for students in a variety of ways and yes businesses have a definite part to play.”
As for where they go after high school, that depends on how hard the student wants to work. Reporting for News 5, Jacqueline Woods.
In addition to Harth Gillett, other students who received the four year secondary scholarships are Gilbert Rhys from Dangriga, Jermaine Humes from Belize City, Joycie Tot of Orange Walk, Sheena Godoy, Corozal and Yesenia Tzib of Bullet Tree Falls.
