COBEC-The Consortium for Belize Educational Cooperation (COBEC) was established in the late 1980s to link post-secondary educational institutions in Belize and other countries for the purpose of strengthening and expanding their capabilities in higher education. In Belize since yesterday, members of COBEC are here to engage in discussions that will help to strengthen the ties and improve the education system in Belize. Today, one of the educational institutions that's a part of COBEC was in Belize to make good on that mission. This morning the Ministry of Education & Youth and Representatives from Gainesville State College signed a MOU that will provide more education opportunities for Belizeans. Minister of Education and Youth, Patrick Faber told us more:
Hon. Patrick Faber, Minster of Education
"COBEC is a consortium that existed for some years now that assist us in our efforts to provide opportunities for our local Belizean students. It has been focusing in many different areas. But our push now in the ministry of education is try
to get COBEC to assist us more in the kinds of things that would help us develop the education system. The memorandum of understanding that we sign was with one institution and the Ministry of Education and Youth. It is particularly geared towards their state college assistance to our efforts in teacher training and we've ask Gainesville State to assist us primarily with early childhood education."
Dr. Carlise Womack - Wynne, Asst. Prof of Ed. Gainesville College
"It is going to start setting the stage for 4 teachers' education person to come up to Gainesville every year from now on. Eventually over the next five years we hope to have a 20 person strong Belizean community of teachers at Gainesville State that we are going to train in early childhood so ages birth to age 8 and they also will get a pre-school special education focus in addition to that so that they can meet the needs of every single child that comes through their classroom."
Dr. Tracy Harrington, Bainbridge College
"We will be talking about teacher education which of course is a priority for Minister Faber and one for us as well because COBEC began with teacher education really and the upgrading of education personnel. I think environmental issues will be point of discussion. How do we contribute to that big huge domain in Belize of environmental protection and
environmental development and allow those things to be protected the same time that you are building tourism. I think that will be another discussion. Training in health sciences is one that we are particularly interested in particularly for nurses but other healthcare personnel as well."
COBEC's trip to Belize started with the COBEC Fair yesterday at the ITVET and will continue tomorrow to at a Business Meeting which will see discussions on Agriculture and Adult Education.
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