Posted: Wednesday, December 28, 2016. 5:44 p.m. CST.
By BBN Staff: Today the Belize National Teacher’s Union BNTU issued a press release stating that in an effort to allay all confusion about the reopening of classes, the Union reiterates that children and teachers deserve and are entitled to all three weeks of their Christmas vacation and that classes should resume on January 9th 2017.
The Union explained that it should be the schools’ managements, and not the Ministry, to make the special arrangements when the school falls short of the one hundred and eighty days as prescribed in the education rules.
In the release, the BNTU stated “that we are becoming concerned and tired of managements who believe that our teachers are PAWNS” and demanded that the Union be included in the discussion. The release reminds managers and teachers to formulate their plans especially since teachers have already indicated their willingness to make up lost time.
In mid December, a memo the Ministry of Education to school managers confirmed that the Ministry of Education was intent to cut one week off the regular 3 week Christmas vacation for teachers and have classes resume on January 3rd 2017. This story can be found here: http://www.breakingbelizenews.com/2016/12/14/moe-intent-week-christmas-holiday/
A number of BNTU branches across the country are scheduled to meet later this week to consult with their membership. It is left to be seen if this issue will boil over into the New Year or whether the Ministry of Education, School Management and the BNTU will come to a reasonable compromise. Only time will tell whether classes will resume on January 3rd or January 9th 2017.
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