Minister of Education to inaugurate four new schools in the Toledo district 

Four new primary school buildings will be officially inaugurated on Wednesday, May 6, 2009 by the Minister of Education, Hon. Patrick Faber, during his tour of the Stann Creek district.  The visit is part of the Minister’s countrywide tour of all schools throughout the country. 

Minister Faber will join representatives of the E.U. in Belize and the Social Investment Fund in the inauguration of the new Bella Vista RC Primary School, Trio Government School, San Juan Primary School and United Community School projects.   

Some 1,978 school children will benefit from the four projects, which were  implemented by the Social Investment Fund and financed under the European Union Banana Support Programme to Belize at a total cost of BZ$1.40 Million. The respective communities also contributed labour towards the projects. 

The E.U. Banana Support program is focusing on the following three critical areas: (a) market and transit facilities in the banana belt. (b) Improved access to technical high school education and (c) Improved access to adult skills training.  

With the exception of United Community, the new school buildings in Trio, Bella Vista and San Juan are similar in size and design. The work scope for the project in these communities included the construction of a 3,600 sq ft single-storey reinforced concrete school building measuring 30 ft wide by 120 ft long.  The building is comprised of four classrooms with one movable partition wall between two classrooms, a female and male bathroom block and an administration office.  

The work scope for the United Community School project entailed the construction of a two –storey reinforced concrete building, which measures 60 ft 10 inches long by 31 ft 2 inches wide.  Each level has two and half classrooms 24 ft long by 25 ft wide and a front verandah. The half classroom space will be used as a male and female sanitary block on the ground level and a principal’s office and teacher’s bathroom space on the upper level. The project entailed the provision of two stairways, electrical installation, and a standard septic tank with soak away for the sanitary blocks. 

Furniture was also supplied to the schools as part of the project.  The buildings are designed to withstand category five hurricane winds. 

Other guest speakers for the occasion will include Mr. Ian McMillan, Executive Director of the Social Investment Fund; Ms. Isabel Gayot, Country Representative of the European Union; Area Representative For Stann Creek West Constituency, Hon. Melvin Hulse; and Area Representative for Toledo East, Hon. Peter Eden Martinez. 

The Minister of Education’s tour of schools throughout Belize started last year right after he assumed his ministerial role.  The objective of the tour is for the Minister to visit all schools and to hear the concerns of stakeholders and see the conditions of schools countrywide.  So far, he has visited schools in all six (6) districts and the tour resumes on its second leg to achieve the objective set out.