Belize
Description
Belize's response to school closure.
Context
Approximately:
(i) 300 primary schools with 60,000 students, including two years of pre-primary (Infant I and II) and 3,000 teachers;
(ii) 52 secondary schools with 24,000 students and 1,200 teachers; and
(iii) 6 ITVET with 700 students and 40 teachers.
Most pre-primary, primary and secondary schools (80%) are privately operated with limited government oversight, including both publicly subsidized schools and those that are not subsidized.
Immediate response
All classes were suspended for the entire country, including:
(i) 300 primary schools with 60,000 students, including two years of pre-primary (Infant I and II) and 3,000 teachers;
(ii) 52 secondary schools with 24,000 students and 1,200 teachers; and
(iii) 6 ITVET with 700 students and 40 teachers.
School reopening was announced for October 5th.
Schools were closed.
Belize is providing limited radio instruction.
The priorities of the government to ensure educational continuity are teacher training, connectivity, educational platforms, devices and content development.
Schools that serve populations with access to wifire continue to provide classes through Google Classroom. This benefits only a minority of the student population.
Support Tools
Use of digital technologies is extremely limited. Some of the top schools have computer labs. As a first step to turn this situation around, the new education operation (BL-L1030) is collaborating with MIT in the creation of a STEAM lab school with a digital focus, but it’s still only in a design phase.
Google Classroom is being used by a minority of students who attend school in communities with access to internet.
Learning platforms, digital content and websites, social networks, TV and radio are all being used.
The MOEYSC is developing radio lessons for the primary level of education.
Connectivity
There is no entity and no content. As a first step, the new education operation (BL-L1030) includes the use of IDB’s climate change education digital materials at the primary and secondary levels.
Some 90% of administrative offices have access to internet. Although classrooms do not typically have access to internet, the IDB has implemented online real-time teacher tutoring nationwide, which was very appreciated by teachers (they connected at internet cafes or other places if the school did not have internet).
The MOEYSC has negotiated with SMART and they will whitelist the ministry platform to provide free access to education content. There are no benefits for students and teachers.
Challenges
Belize does not have a culture of online learning and access to internet is limited in rural areas. This makes online learning difficult. However, cellphone access is widespread.
Lack of parent support and teacher training for virtual schooling are further challenges.
Reopening
The reopening process has started.
Not all high schools started at once. Some start each week. For primary, they started in September and it's still paper based remote learning with two-week learning packages.
The reopening plan contemplates formative assessment of students to identify the need for support for individual students, but the instruments to use have not yet been identified.
The learning models will involve hybrid strategies.