U.B. students showed up at the various campuses for classes today, but there were no staff or teachers on hand. That’s because the faculty and staff staged a mass sick out following a meeting last week Thursday in which the U.B. board could not reach a compromise with the teachers’ representative Leonardo Pott over a […]
Is there trouble brewing in the horizon for the University of Belize? The institution has a total of four hundred and seventy-six faculty staff and administration, two hundred and fifty of which are fulltime employees. Last week Friday, a meeting was held where over one hundred and sixteen employee signed a petition indicating that they […]
Public schools throughout the Belize District were closed today but it wasn’t because of the Influenza. The Ministry of Education closed the school doors for the Belize National Teacher’s Union Belize District Branch’s meeting. The program stated that the morning consultations would be about the contentious teaching service commission and the afternoon would be dedicated […]
Schools around the country are interrupting classes because of the spread of the flu. In Belmopan, however, the reason why Our Lady of Guadalupe Roman Catholic School, was closed down today was because teachers did not get their salaries last Friday. News Five traveled to Belmopan and found locks on the gates and not a […]
Belize Natural Energy (B.N.E.) wants to be known not only for the oil it extracts from Belize’s soil and the estimated three hundred and thirty-four million dollars it profited in sales from 2005 to 2008. It also wants to be recognized for its contribution to the society. In 2008, the B.N.E. Charitable Trust was established […]
School Principal, Suzette Arzu, says the school will take measures to prevent further attacks. Suzette Arzu, Principal, Holy Redeemer Primary “We’re making sure that the gates are locked at all times, even more now. We will be sending out notes to the parents and asking them to pick up their kids by four o’clock every […]
The school year has just opened but students at the Caye Caulker Roman Catholic School are taking the rest of the week off… and it’s no major holiday. An undetermined viral infection has raised serious concerns in the school and at least one third of the students have been sent home since classes started. Health […]
When Excelsior students received letters informing them that this year’s carnival road march was off limits, it was a major disappointment for those who had signed up. But that news was viewed as a complete affront for carnival organizers and with utter disgust by the band leaders. Marina Welcome—leader, and founder of the Jump Street […]
The Ministry of Education continues its countrywide consultations about the proposed Teaching Services Commission. The Church remains conflicted on a unified standpoint. The Council of Churches issued a statement in support of the commission. Then, the Bishop’s Commission on Education for the Roman Catholic Church made it clear it didn’t support those amendments to the […]
Saint Michael’s College re-opened its doors in 2000. But with the economic downturn the high school has been facing hard times. But the school has gotten a lucky break that can change its woes. This Tuesday, a memorandum of understanding will be penned to provide much needed assistance to Michael’s. After a trip to Belize, […]
A new primary school has opened its doors in Belize City. Horizon Academy is a private institution that is located at mile three and a half on the Northern Highway. The first day of class began this morning with sixty five students. News Five visited the academy to find out what the institution has to […]
It is the first day of the new primary school year. Approximately seventy thousand students registered for classes around the country. But for at least fifteen students from Mahogany Heights who headed to the primary school in the La Democracia community, things did not go well. The Ministry of Education promised earlier this year that […]
Primary schools open on Monday but for teachers in Benque Viejo del Carmen and Succotz Villages, eleventh hour transfers are taking place. This is because the Ministry of Education indicated from April of this year that the two schools were overstaffed with teachers and therefore transfers were necessary. The situation has left the teachers at […]
From a total of three hundred and seventy applications, fourteen deserving students from across the country were awarded scholarships to the high schools of their choice. It’s the eighteenth year of the Telemedia Scholarship program and the 2009 recipients and their parents gathered at the Radisson this afternoon to be recognized for their hard work […]
It’s not considered one of the core subjects in the curriculum, but Physical Education classes are essential to the holistic development of children. The problem in Belize—particularly at the primary school level—is that P.E. is more times than not simply considered a free period and the students are allowed to run around as they please. […]
The controversy over the establishment of the Teaching Services Commission, as a part of the proposed Ministry of Education’s amendments to the Education Act, continues despite claims by the Ministry that the changes will stabilize Belize’s educational system. According to Minister of Education, Honorable Patrick Faber, the commission’s management of teacher applications and subsequent approvals […]
But while Faber was unavailable for comment because he is currently out of the country, Information Officer of the Ministry, Arlette Gomez, says that the release from the Catholic Diocese is misleading since the ministry has always had the final say with regard to hirings in church-state schools. Gomez says the amendment simply gives the […]
The story began two years ago when a local businessman was approached for the use of his property along the Western Highway to establish an offshore medical university. That discussion led to an impressive full blown internet promotion, which News Five’s Jose Sanchez found out, was a fraud. The advertised university never got off the […]
They are known for the protection and conservation of the environment, and tonight, the Protected Areas Conservation Trust, is also celebrating education. Since 2002, the organization has been providing scholarships to deserving persons to pursue studies on environmental conservation and development. At a ceremony held at the Guanacaste National Park in Belmopan, seven persons were […]
We have reported regularly on the work of Doctor Arlie Petters, Belize’s world famous scientist. Doctor Petters is currently on one of his frequent visits and is undertaking one of his passions, that is, working with young people to advance their educational and cultural experiences. The programme this time involves gifted students who have come […]
The Teacher’s Commission that the Ministry of Education is proposing to implement is still getting mixed reviews from stakeholders. There have been poorly attended public consultations throughout the country and last Wednesday different managing school authorities, including the clergy, were invited to a sit down with the ministry. It appeared that the clergy was on […]
The Teachers Commission that the Ministry of Education is proposing to implement has been the subject of heated debate. Some stakeholders feel that the church’s power would be usurped by the ministry and herald the end of the church-state system. M.O.E. has staged a series of poorly attended public consultations throughout the country perhaps because […]
Stay in school: it’s the advice given to most students, but in numerous cases the reality is that many students are academically strong and motivated, but are held back by financial constraints. And after a 2006 report from UNICEF revealed that a high percentage of students in the Jewel don’t even make it through primary […]
Galen University opened its doors in 2003 with fourteen students and since then, its student body has grown to three hundred and ten students. Prospective as well as current students of the tertiary level institution at mile sixty-two on the Western Highway now have opportunities for scholarships. National Transport has decided to award ten scholarships, […]
The village of Ontario is without a high school as Belize Faith Mission says it no longer has the funds to sustain the privately run institution. The teachers, parents and administration protested at the firing of the principal and the announcement that the doors would have been closed before graduation. The students who have been […]
