Capitalizing on the media opportunity that has come with the end of the teachers' strike, Minister of Education Francis Fonseca accompanied by Chief Education Officer Maud Hyde and her Deputy Allan Genitty today visited two schools, All Saints and Edward P. Yorke High School, both in the Freetown Division to tell students that government is on their side.
Francis Fonseca, Minister of Education
"What you've witnessed as young Belizeans over the last few weeks there's nothing wrong with what you've witnessed. As the Minister of Education obviously I would have loved for there to be no disruption in classes but there is absolutely nothing wrong with the Belizean people, or any group of people who have a legitimate concern, expressing that concern; I want you to understand that, that's a very important lesson for our young people to understand. There's nothing wrong with standing up for what you believe in, there's nothing wrong with standing up and having your voices heard, having your concerns heard, and expressing those views and concerns in a responsible way; that is very important to democracy. We have always, the Ministry of Education, the Government of Belize, we've always enjoyed a good relationship with our teachers throughout the country and it is important for us to continue to respect and appreciate our teachers. Certainly as the Minister of Education I respect and appreciate all our teachers, all of them wherever they are in this country."
At the next stop at All Saints, Chief Education Officer Maud Hyde told the students that because of the 12 day absence of teachers from the classroom the dates for the PSE exams have been pushed back.
Maud Hyde, Chief Education Officer
"We looked at the dates for PSE and we shifted it a little bit so you have more time to work with your teachers, your teachers can come in and put in the extra work that they would very much like to do, and we are looking at the first sitting after the Easter Vacation around April the 11th and last year we also gave an additional three weeks interval so you could relax and rest and get back into the swing of things so the other examination will be administered on May 9th so that it gives you quite a bit of time to work with your teachers so that you can once more keep up the good results that you have been showing throughout the years."
The PSE examinations were originally scheduled for March 14th and May 3rd.
