Extended First Semester in 2019 School Year Raises Concerns for B.N.T.U.

The 2019 academic calendar will see a few more school days tacked on to the first semester of classes, extending the term to December twentieth when schools will recess for the Christmas holidays.  But closing off just five days before Christmas is already raising concerns within the Belize National Teachers Union which has reached out to the Ministry of Education in an attempt to rectify the issue.  President Elena Smith has since written to Chief Education Officer, Doctor Carol Babb to seek a relaxation of what is otherwise a stipulation that has been agreed to by both parties.  In speaking with President Smith earlier today, she told News Five informally that the upcoming school year will consist of thirty-nine weeks, as opposed to the thirty-eight weeks that have been agreed to by the ministry and the union.  Conversely, we are informed that the school year is not measured in weeks, but by a total of one hundred and eighty school days.  The Ministry of Education says that it will issue a formal response to the union’s concern by Friday.