Last week the Ministry of education held a press conference to highlight the ministry’s achievements and struggles. In his address, Hon Patrick Farber spoke about subsidies for students, grants for schools, and additional classroom spaces, and related infrastructural needs that many schools nationwide have received. The minister also mentioned in his address that there will be a new devised organizational structure for the ministry, focusing on greater coherence and reduced fragmentations of functions, saying that he hopes to introduce to the house, a training Bill and establish the Belize Teaching Service Commission.  Today, the Belize National Teacher’s Union (BNTU) held a press conference to state its position on the training bill and the BTSC .
All ten branches were represented at the press conference. According to the BNTU president, Jaime Panti, the BTNU is in support of the Teaching Service Commission with some specific proposed amendments. And while the union also addressed the issue of school safety, crime and violence, the union had strong words for the ministry to address the collective bargaining agreement. The union is calling on GOB to address the issue of the collective bargaining agreement, and if not met, Panti says, drastic measures will be taken by the union.  He would not specify what those actions would be.  In terms of crime and violence Jaime Panty says that there must be short, medium and long term goals and that there needs to be a synchronizing of integrated approaches across the different ministries. Panty asked that there be a full nationwide awareness campaign this month in all schools, in order to sensitize students, parents and the general public on the situation of crime.