A large number of schools will soon be built across Belize thanks to both in-country and external funding. For starters, on Wednesday morning there was a groundbreaking ceremony in the Santa Cruz area of Santa Elena for a Government Pre-School and Primary School. Present for the historic event were the Minister of Education Hon. Patrick Faber, Minister of Works the Hon. Rene Montero, Chief Education Officer Carol Iris Babb and Councilors from the San Ignacio and Santa Elena Town Council.
For Deputy Prime Minister Faber, it was just one in the line-up of pre-schools opened on Wednesday in the Cayo District, with one in Camalote and Mountain View being given a spark as well.
“The development here in the Cayo District has been astronomical,” said DPM Patrick Faber in his main speech in Santa Cruz.
The Hon. Patrick Faber took the opportunity to thank Chief Education Officer Carol Babb, Principal Education Officer Jahmor Lopez as well as the students from the Eden Seventh Day Adventist School. Students from Eden Primary performed the National Anthem. Hon. Faber also gave thanks to personnel from his technical team and the Ministry of Natural Resources for getting things done on the ground.
The proposed site for the Santa Cruz Pre-Primary and Primary School Project is being built with funds from the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), the Ministry of Education, Youth, Sports and Culture and the Government of Belize. The Ministry of Education has started the construction of 11 new schools for this month alone. According to the DPM some 35 schools will be built with over 80 million dollars from the CDB. Coming on stream from this CDB assistance will be 22 new pre-schools-to set a firm foundation in education.
The Hon. Rene Montero, Minister of Works also spoke on Wednesday for the ground breaking in Cayo Central. Minister Montero said that future doctors, teachers and engineers will be coming out from Santa Cruz and it will have a ripple effect to reduce crime and poverty.
