UDP blasts Ministry of Education for failing “to adequately plan a safe reopening” of schools on Monday

By Rubén Morales Iglesias:

The United Democratic Party (UDP) said the Ministry of Education, Culture, Science, and Technology (MoECST) has failed “to adequately plan for a safe reopening of schools with a realistic timeline” and called on the Ministry “to get serious about the business of educating the nation”.

The UDP said in a statement issued on Friday that apart from only allowing schools three working days when they announced the reopening of schools for hybrid learning on Tuesday, December 14, 2021, the MoECST is proceeding to open schools on Monday with protocols which were put in place before the arrival of the Omicron variant.

The UDP criticized the MoECST for changing the starting date three times in four months and blasted the MoECST CEO Dian Maheia quoting her from a morning talk show that “Our plan right now is pretty much that we need to begin and then we will continue as best we can”.

“The Omicron variant in most countries has Education Officials revisiting their guidance and protocols to schools,” noted the UDP in a statement on Friday.

“This is not the case with this Ministry of Education. Schools are left with guidelines developed pre-Omicron. Furthermore, the experiences of schools with COVID-19 are expected to be different due to transmissibility, yet the Ministry of Education keeps referring to the past. Our knowledge of Omicron and its impact is sparse. The Ministry of Education should not be so callous, irresponsible to allow schools to reopen without the benefit of the due diligence expected from good leaders.”

The UDP said they are not against the reopening of schools, but not under the present circumstances.

“We place on record: The United Democratic Party supports the reintroduction of our students into the physical classroom. However, this reunion must be adequately timed to give all schools an equal opportunity to qualify for the “Green Light Certification for Return to On Site School” as stipulated by the Government of Belize.”

The UDP said that as it stands, it’s the Government schools, which were unable to adequately serve the students during the pandemic because of the lack of support from the government, that will again fall short.

Apart from hammering the government on its approach towards the reopening of schools, the UDP also called on the Government to deliver on their Blu Manifesto promise of “education free of charge”.

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