M.O.E. Breaks Ground for 3 Schools in the South
The Ministry of Education broke ground for three new schools in the south. Last week, Minister of Education Patrick Faber, ministry officials and village went to the villages of Bella Vista and San Juan-Cow Pen to the proposed sites of the projects. Reporter Andrea Polanco reports.
Andrea Polanco, Reporting
Bella Vista, through funding from the Caribbean Development Bank and the Government of Belize, will be getting a high-school and a pre-school. Last week Minister of Education Patrick Faber, education representatives and other school and village officials broke ground at the proposed site for the project.
Patrick Faber
Patrick Faber, Minister of Education
“There is no exaggeration when we say that there is the dire need for a high school right here in Bella Vista. So, we are very pleased that we are breaking ground for that today. But we are also breaking ground for a pre-school, pre-primary school as it is called. We believe in getting our children to start strong, giving them a good, strong foundation. Particularly in these kinds of communities where English is not the main language spoken and English is the language of instruction in our schools, pre-school education plays an even bigger importance.”
The Minister of Education and officials from the San Juan Busco Primary School also got together to break ground for the school’s new pre-school. Principal Zabdiel Martinez says that the new addition to the school is a big help and will make pre-primary education more accessible for neighboring community of Cow Pen.
Zabdiel Martinez
Zabdiel Martinez, Principal, San Juan Busco R.C School
“Presently we have a pre-school but we do not have a structure for our pre-school students. We have thirty-two pre-schoolers and so now this new structure will greatly benefit us. One of our great visions is to have one campus, because we have two campuses. So, having this building here built at this campus it shows that we are moving towards that dream because we are trying to amalgamate the two campuses. So, that is one of the benefits and the other benefit is that some of the villagers from Cow Pen complain that it is a little bit far to go to San Juan and drop off their students. So, being here in the middle of both places is kinda more accessible for them.”
The Minister of education says that these three new schools are a part of the Ministry’s goal to build thirty-five new schools for Belize, twenty-two of which will be pre-schools. Reporting for News Five, I’m Andrea Polanco.
