Overcrowded Dangriga school appeals for help
Too many students and not enough classrooms. It’s a common compliant in this young and rapidly growing country and today in Dangriga News Five’s Janelle Chanona listened to one school’s plea for help.
Janelle Chanona, Reporting
Overcrowded classrooms are a reality for many Belizean schools but for the teachers and staff of Sacred Heart Primary in Dangriga, the lack of space has reached unacceptable proportions.
Clara Sabal, Principal, Sacred Heart Primary
“It simply means we have classrooms that should have been housing thirty-five children maximum, housing seventy children right now. So that’s our problem right now.”
Janelle Chanona
“Seventy as in seven-zero?”
Clara Sabal
“Seven-zero.”
According to Principal Clara Sabal, over the last decade the overcrowding problem has gotten progressively worse even though ten new classrooms were added to the campus three years ago.
To try to save space, Sabal got rid of all desks and chairs and replaced them with single units. With only blackboards separating most of the rooms, teachers have had to make some adjustments of their own.
Ladia Caliz, Teacher Intern
“Teaching in an overcrowded classroom is frustrating because I have a total of thirty kids and then you want to give them that one on one attention but it’s difficult to move in between. If you notice they are all jammed up. So most of what I do, I try to do corporative learning, putting them in groups, but it’s still not okay, because it is hot, you don’t have the proper spacing that you want, the kids are not really focussed. But you try your very best with what you’re given and that’s what I’m doing.”
Dean Aranda, Teacher
“It’s rough because the noise condition at times, it’s unbearable. You find out that because the space is not readily adequate, the students have a tendency to create a lot of noise. And when the other class is actively involved in an activity that requires them to express themselves, you kind of hinder them from doing that because there’s another classroom next door. … We really need, we are desperately in need of more classrooms to accommodate our students.”
Sacred Heart has recently been given permission to use a building belonging to the Catholic Church. The location is ideal because it’s on campus and would mean an extra four classrooms, but renovations to the structure will be costly.
Clara Sabal
“I want as much as possible for the business community to be very, very cooperative with us in whichever way they can assist us, we’d appreciate that.”
Janelle Chanona
“What would you need?”
Clara Sabal
“We need finance for labour and then if they cannot provide us with finance, they can provide us with materials, doesn’t matter.”
Janelle Chanona
“Lumber, etc…”
Clara Sabal
“Lumber, nails, windows, paint, all you can mention for a building.”
Ladia Caliz
“So if you can give it, please, please. You say you are generous, put your money where your mouth is.”
If you would like to assist the students of Sacred Heart Primary in Dangriga, please contact Clara Sabal at 522-2040 or deposit funds at First Caribbean’s Dangriga Branch account number 3829131. Reporting for News Five, I am Janelle Chanona.
