It’s been over two weeks since classes have been reopened to hybrid learning. But, not all students have the resources to access learning material virtually. Today, five schools from across the country are benefiting from a total of ninety-nine laptops. A symbolic handing over ceremony was held at the House of Culture in Belize City […]
C.E.O. Valentino Shal also announced that there are another two hundred laptops that will be donated under the Basic Needs Trust Fund Ninth Program in the near future. Those will be distributed to high school students. Valentino Shal, Deputy Chair, Social Investment Fund “Very soon C.E.O. Maheia, we will also be making another contribution […]
Since the reopening of schools on January tenth, there have been reports of teachers and students having COVID-19 but none of them were engaged in hybrid learning, and there have not been any reported COVID clusters originating at schools. Minister of State in the Ministry of Education, Doctor Louis Zabaneh told News Five today that […]
Today makes day-nine since a number of schools have been officially reopened to hybrid learning. It has been met with mixed reviews from parents and teachers, for which the Ministry of Education is aware. When the media caught up with Chief Executive Officer Dian Maheia, we asked for an update two weeks in. Dian […]
Do teachers have to take a test to return to school? Reports reaching News Five are that teachers have been returning to classrooms without having done any test to confirm a negative COVID status. This has some parents frightened and upset, as children under the age of twelve are not vaccinated and could possibly be […]
Earlier this week, a number of security school wardens were given their walking papers and replaced. The former school wardens cried foul, claiming that they were being politically victimized by the Briceño administration. The United Democratic Party, in the wake of the firings, issued a statement saying that twenty wardens from the Belize and Stann […]
A hefty donation of sanitization supplies were symbolically handed over to the Ministry of Education from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, at the House of Culture this morning. News Five’s Duane Moody was there and files this report. Duane Moody, Reporting Over one hundred and eighty thousand dollars worth of […]
Earlier this week, the Government of Belize was able to procure two hundred and fifty-five scholarships through a grant from the Central American Bank for Economic Integration, also known as C.A.B.E.I. But, as we found out today, the scholarships are not going to be used for tuition purposes. Now, we have reported that the Ministry […]
In Cabinet news, the Minister of Education reported that all schools are being closely monitored for any potential COVID-19 outbreaks. During the first week of classes, the Ministry of Health data confirms three hundred and thirteen cases affecting teachers, and four hundred and fifty six cases among students. The majority, however, had not been involved […]
Today a group of women turned out in protest at the Truancy Unit of the Ministry of Education in Belize City. They were up in arms because they were being issued termination letters. One woman was about to apply for maternity leave when she was let go instead. While they claim they are being politically […]
Since the reopening of schools last Monday, there have been reports of COVID clusters among teachers of at least one school, and reports of other cases have caused more concerns over whether the reopening of schools was a good decision. But Minister of Education, Francis Fonseca told News Five that with all precautionary measures in […]
On Thursday, the Government of Cuba awarded medical scholarships to thirteen Belizean students. According to the Ministry of Education, ten will be majoring in medicine, two in nursing and one in psychology. The annual Cuba-Belize Scholarship Program awards young Belizeans who are interested in pursuing careers in the medical field. During a brief ceremony this […]
It’s only three days into the reopening of schools for hybrid learning across the country, but there are already reports that COVID-19 may be spreading at some schools. Reports began circulating on social media that teachers and students from several schools in the Belize District have tested positive for COVID. This, of course, was cause […]
C.E.O. Maheia noted that schools must strictly adhere to their preventative measures in order to prevent an outbreak in school. This will require schools to strongly enforce these regulations at the front gate. C.E.O. Maheia also advised parents to monitor their children, and to keep them away from school if they are displaying flu like […]
Today City Hall was the venue for a laptop handing over ceremony. Over twenty thousand Belize dollars worth of ACER devices were handed over to deserving recipients and it was an exciting moment as the donation was made possible through a sister city partnership established between Belize and Taiwan. News Five’s Duane Moody reports. […]
Classes resumed on Monday for primary, secondary, and tertiary institutions across the country, despite a considerable spike in the number of active COVID-19 cases. Former Chief Education Officer, Dr. Carol Babb, is the Secretary General of the United Democratic Party. Today she weighed in on the reopening of schools and the challenges that administrators are […]
A number of schools across the country officially reopened today to hybrid learning, as prescribed by the Ministry of Education. Despite hundreds of schools receiving approval for this approach, many others have asked for extensions and as we saw today, some schools were scanty. A News Five crew stopped in at several schools on the […]
The return to classrooms for hybrid learning is expected to assist the Ministry of Education with an assessment of the learning gaps created since March of 2020 when in-person classes were closed. For the most of the past two years, students have been engaged in online classes, and so when News Five spoke with principals […]
The United Democratic Party has issued a press release charging the Ministry of Education, Culture, Science and Technology has (Quote) “failed to support teachers and students during the pandemic” and likewise “failed to adequately plan a safe reopening with a realistic timeline.” (Unquote) The party says the ministry has been indecisive with three changes in […]
The conversation surrounding the reopening of schools continues across the country. The National Commission for Families and Children says one of their main concerns is the effect of protracted school closures on children’s social skills. N.C.F.C. has found that zoom classes and paper-based work, over an extended period of time, takes away from the kind […]
Eli Romero, Monitoring and Evaluation Officer at N.C.F.C, spoke of the importance of preparing children for the reopening of school. Romero also addressed the need for shared monitoring to ensure schools are doing their best to prepare a safe space for those children returning. Eli Romero, Monitoring and Evaluation Officer, National Commission for Families […]
A debate is raging on social media about whether or not parents are prepared to send their children back to school on January tenth. The Ministry of Education continues to review and has given the green light to a number of schools to reopen for the semester using a hybrid learning model – that’s where […]
During an interview with Chief Executive Officer Dian Maheia of the Ministry of Education, she told News Five children have experienced learning losses over the almost two years of distance learning. But how bad is it? She says the educational gap can only be determined when children are back in the classrooms so that an […]
And then there is the reality that many children have dropped out of school. Since last year, we have been reporting that a number of children have been lost to the system and for varied reasons. C.E.O. Maheia says that that true amount will only be determined when on campus in-person classes resume. The Ministry […]
Classes resume next week Monday for tens of thousands of students across the country who attend one of the over six hundred institutions in Belize. A Ministry of Education Transition to Hybrid Learning Report breaks down a detailed plan for safely getting children back into the classroom setting, with both an online and in-person learning […]
