BELIZE SHORT OF SCHOOLS FOR 11,000 CHILDREN

11,000 PRIMARY SCHOOL AGE CHILDREN IN BELIZE HAVE NO SCHOOLS TO GO TO !

A recent statistical study ( May, 2010 ) revealed that 11,000 primary aged children have no schools in which to attend. There is a huge shortage of schools and the population growth is increasing faster than the Government of Belize can meet the need.

For those outside the country, one has to understand that Belize has one of the highest Foreign Debt to GDP ratios in the world ( 110% to GDP ) and a full quarter of government tax revenues go only to pay interest on foreign loans. Over the next few years the foreign debts are expected to increase to half of government tax revenue. Taxes are always rising and new taxes are being created constantly. It is never enough. Belize is a rural agrarian country.

The school system inherited from Colonial times of Great Britain rule, was a CHURCH STATE system. By this we mean, all kinds of religions were invited and are still invited into Belize, to buy a piece of land, build a school and after 3 years performance, the owners of any whacky religion, or private investor group, can get 80% of their teacher salaries paid for by the Ministry of Education. The Government of Belize itself, has very few actual government owned schools. The demand for school seats is always larger than the supply.

The government has no money to build schools. Indeed, it is only recently that some preventable diseases like cholera and malaria are being brought under control. There are many demands on the limited financial resources of the small country of Belize.