Education Week continued today with a district expo. But it wasn’t
the kind of expo we’re used to, like a fair, it was exposure for the talents
of primary schoolers. Jacqueline Godwin visited the Belize City event and found
that there were some big ideas being promoted.
Jacqueline Godwin Reporting,
The crowd at the Memorial Park may have appeared to be just another gathering
of students at an outdoor function but today’s activity promises to have
an even greater impact on the children than what happens inside their classroom.
If you thought education only involves making sure your child has a uniform
to wear and school books to attend classes, think again. Here at the Memorial
Park, students from pre-school, primary, and secondary schools are finding out
there are so much more involved in achieving a sound education like the different
organizations and units who come together to make up the entire education system.
Ellis Metzgen, 11 years old
“We have the YWCA, we have the BFLA, PAHO, and other various organizations
here helping us the young children getting very good education.”
Jacqueline Godwin,
And besides your parents and your teachers, did you have any idea of just how
many people are involved?
Ellis Metzgen,
“No mam I didn’t know.”
Lurleen Betson–Gamboa, Asst. Education Officer
“Majority of the times you find out that the public is not aware of
the different units that we have around and at an education expo such as this,
it opens the eyes of the public to which direction to go if there is any question
as well as it gives students, teachers, the public at large an opportunity to
see what goes on behind the scenes in the different educational offices.”
The expo was held to observe Education Week from May tenth to the fifteenth
but this year’s commemoration is different because the Ministry of Education
is trying to engage and enlist community 
partners in creating better schools
and better citizens.
Carol Babb, Deputy Chief Education Officer
“We cannot do it on our own. We need the support of everyone. We need
the businesses to support our schools to make education more affordable, to
ensure that we have quality. We need everyone to come on board if we are to
make education available to every child and to ensure that each child develops
to his or her fullest potential.”
But that is not the only challenge confronting the Ministry of Education as
pointed by Deputy Chief Education Officer Carol Babb.
Carol Babb,
“I do not think we have enough spaces at pre-school. Definitely we
don’t have enough spaces at high school. Less than 50% of our teachers
are not trained, and the percentage is even lower at secondary. So access and
ensuring that we have quality teachers to provide quality education are our
challenges.”
The school children seem to be interested in the information they collected
from the displays and hopefully they will access the services available to them
now and into their early adult years.
Jane Bennett, Head – UWI Open Campus Belize
“To be productive citizens in terms of your performance, whether it
is lawyer, engineer, medical, doctors, or even just for the work place in general,
in business, and so on accountants, financing, teachers – you name it
and UWI does it. And so it is good for children at very early ages, from primary 
school onwards to know that UWI is a viable choice, we’re a Caribbean
university and we have a presence here in Belize and now they can even do things
online.”
Jacqueline Godwin,
What you like about the expo?
Amerie Castillo, 11 years old
“I like that it teaches us many different things about life like Aids,
like protecting ourselves.”
Jacqueline Godwin,
And what about you Ormisha, what can you tell me about the expo and what you
have been learning?
Ormisha Arnold, 12 years old
“I’ve been learning about PAHO, YWCA, and many other organizations.”
Jacqueline Godwin,
And behind us we see lots of entertainment on the stage. Art as well is involved
right.
Ormisha Arnold,
“Yes man like different preschools doing skits and dances and cultural
dances. They are very entertaining.”
Lurleen Betson–Gamboa,
“I would say extremely important because what happen is you find that
students may not be able to excel in the academics and they are the ones who
really can showcase their talents in the arts and an opportunity such as this,
it is really great that the students from pre-school right up to secondary can
actually showcase what it is they can do.”
Jada Parchue, 11 years old
“I’ve been learning about more different organizations and I
didn’t know that education could be so fun and that I learnt which organization
do what, about diseases, and that’s all I learnt.”
Jacqueline Godwin,
So indeed you’ve been finding out that while learning you can also have
fun right?
Jada Parchue,
“Yes mam.”
Jacqueline Godwin,
And what you think about the entertainment that is on the stage, all the dancing 
and the poems that the children have been reciting?
Jada Parchue,
“It is very great. I didn’t know people are so creative in Belize.”
Like preschooler Jonathan Valerio of Bethany Baptist School. But while the
students enjoyed the performances of their classmates not all of their peers
are receiving an education for a number of reasons even though the Ministry
of Education states that, no child between the ages of five and fourteen should
be out of school.
Dale Anthony, Manager – Truancy Unit
“Where they cannot pay for their meals. We have situations where they
can’t dress, they don’t buy their full uniform. You have reasons
like the parents neglect them, they are not well taken care of, they can’t
buy their books, where they live is not the best place. So there are several
reasons why they are not in school. Every child between the age of 5 to 14 at
least should be in school and I guess that is the reason why there is a new
feeding program coming on stream and that is the reason why the Truancy Unit
has been better equipped today in order for us to go around and to try and find
these students and to try and get them back in school.”
A total of nine preschools, twelve primary schools and seven secondary schools
attended the education expo. Jacqueline Godwin reporting for 7News.
Due to the swine flu scare, the main event for education week –
which was a massive teachers’ meeting in Belmopan - was put off until
next month.
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