Usually, House Meetings are rife with accusations, arguments, and all manner of insults. But today's meeting in the National Assembly Chamber was a little different - and that's because it wasn't your area rep on the floor - it was a group of 51 students.
This year marked the third Children's Parliament, an exercise in potent symbolism which puts the youths of Belize at the forefront, and has them debate the way parliamentarians would, except without the endless blame gaming and petty insults.
And today that debate centered around vocational education. Courtney Menzies has this story.
There was an extra special sitting of the House of Representatives today, but instead of the political faces you know well, the seats were occupied by students.
They assumed the roles of the elected officials and, like in any meeting, debated a hot topic: whether vocational programs should be expanded into all high schools and tertiary level institutions.
Members on both sides of the National Assembly gave their views for why they either agreed or disagreed, and here is a snippet of that debate:
Tomas Serrut, Prime Minister
"Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore. We must not solely focus on academics. We must also make way and pave the road for those who would rather establish their lives based on tactile and more hands on approaches to the society for they make up the role of who we don't usually see behind closed doors. Careers that require specific skills or knowledge of a trade are highly essential to overall development."
Lily Pike, Leader of the Opposition
"I disagree with this bill. Item 4.1 states, and I quote, the government shall ensure that in municipality that there is two high schools and one tertiary level institution. I live on the island Caye Caulker, where there is one high school. Now I ask you, shall this town fund adding another high school while also making a brand new tertiary level institution. Not only does this island not have the funding to do so, it does not have the population."
"Technical schools are available, they just need to be better. If we change our focus to them, we begin to give every student, whether they prefer academic or technical education the opportunity to learn."
Raul Vargas, Fort George
"We must bear in mind that not all students are academically inclined. This might be a major factor for them to stay away from school. By instating vocational education into the school's curriculum, it makes them have a new outlook in going to the classroom everyday."
Maria Cal, Belmopan
"In reading this bill, there was no statement made as how they would cater to the needs of our youths with diverse abilities for their inclusion and involvement in these courses."
"What about having properly built ramps, wheelchair accessible space, readable signs in braille and E-books just to name a few examples. Also, would the certified trade instructors be able to teach these youths with diverse abilities? Today, I stand representing all our youths with diverse abilities in hopes of seeing a change for the betterment of our lives and for us to be included in every aspect of society."
Hipolito Gallego, Orange Walk North
"To develop the country and create more critical thinkers, we have to invest in vocational education programs, extending these program to both secondary and tertiary levels, it will make students want to attend school and participate in different disciplines offered, for example barbering, cosmetology, plumbing, and even welding. Based on a survey done with 100 young people of my constituency, 65% of the participants choose barbering, this include both male and female, but of the 65%, 38% were males. Madam speaker, I believe this is to be an excellent way to keep our young men occupied and out of trouble."
Heather Leigh-Stewart, Orange Walk East
"The question I have is, who will pay the teachers who will be responsible for teaching these vocational courses? Will the government, that is already struggling to pay the teachers we already have pay them? We didn't reduce their pay by 10% for no reason back in 2021."
"Now imagine having to pay these new teachers. Belize has a total of 75 tertiary and secondary schools, multiply that by 11 because that's how many courses are listed on the bill and you have a total or 825 teachers."
Aoife Wade, Belize Rural Central
"On November 2nd, Hurricane Lisa made landfall in Belize. Over 500 homes were destroyed by her forceful winds. Zincs were being flown off, cards being flooded, and worst of all, livelihoods of our fellow Belizeans being lost. When the people of our country were in need of help, was it the doctors that rushed to get the power back on? Was it the lawyers that scaled the ladders to connect the wires? And lastly, was it the bankers that helped to repair the cars after getting severely damaged by the rising waters? Well, to put it quite simply, madam speaker, the answer is no. And the answer will always be no because the people that were key players in getting Belize back on its feet were vocational workers."
Delvin Requena, Toledo East
"Out of the total workforce of 181,734, 20,317 were unemployed. I want [to ask] everyone here and at home, in the galleries and abroad how many of those individuals did not have any level of education? Only 116. If not having an education was the problem for our Belizeans not to have employment, we would expect that number to be higher. Why would I go to my constituents in Toledo East and tell them, take vocational education training if I cannot ensure they have employment after they have finished?"
And once the meeting was adjourned, the students representing the Senate members had their turn before the bill was passed.
And one representative, whose portfolio this bill fell under, explained that the process was a lot harder than she imagined.
Lea Gonzalez, Minister of Education, Science, Culture, & Technology
"When I sometimes see the process being done through TV, I'm like, oh well that's quite easy. But during these past days, learning the standing orders and everything has been quite, amazing I'd say because you could see what they go through and it's something saying things behind the TV and being like, oh we could do that, but when you're in the seat, it's like your in the hot seat and you're being streamed and everyone's watching you, you have to be careful what you say and what you stand for."
"I felt it very stressful because I know I was not only speaking on myself but on behalf of all children and youths in Belize and the importance of education. Also, I didn't know it was going to be such a big task until I got here, I was notified and I was pretty shocked and I think it's great to be a voice for others."
The entire event took six months to prepare, and lasted approximately two and a half hours.
