On Thursday, January 28, the Ministry of Education held its first press conference for the year 2010. It was an opportunity for the Ministry to speak directly to stakeholders, look back on the year 2009 and unveil their goals for the new year.

Minister of Education, Hon. Patrick Faber, opened the press conference by saying, “Where we are today did not happen overnight…” He continued by saying that similarly we will not get where we want to be overnight. Minister Faber then invited the Chief Executive Officer in the Ministry of Education, David Leacock, to make a presentation on the new

Hon. Patrick Faber then went on to speak about some of the accomplishments of 2009. Those accomplishments include the expansion of the $300 high school subsidy program; the building of new schools and school buildings across the country; providing scholarships for 350 teachers; a successful primary school text book program; passing of the Education and Training Bill and the expansion of the scholarship budget from $3 million to $8.6 million. There are 1,220 students on scholarships at the University of Belize and an additional two thousand nine hundred and fourteen are presently receiving financial grants.

Minister Faber said that this year he plans to focus on Early Childhood Education. He spoke about George Bush’s “No Child Left Behind” policy through which the Ministry can monitor the progress of students countrywide through tests like the Belize Junior Achievement Test. Another goal for 2010 is the implementation of a National Primary School Feeding Program. Minister Faber said that for too long individuals have been saying that we need to wait: “How much longer should we wait?” He said that we can not wait any longer and that we need to work together now to deliver the education services that this country deserves. He closed by reiterating the point that “Education is everybody’s business”.