Feeding at the Trough

By: Abdulmajeed K Nunez

I expected better!
From Genitty, Caritas, Aird, Carol and Brenda
Who have been in the school system, forever!
More so, in the capacity of administrators
So, they know the constraints as managers
But have miraculously forgotten, now that their bread has butter
Now that most of them are doctors, sitting at the table of their master
They now think they are better because they are now the decision makers

We have schools refusing kids
You trying to tell me they can’t find space
Majority of these parents are single parents
Many of the children are truants
Pick them up and put them in school
Some kids honestly want to go
Put 50% of them in school and the other 50% in the army
Our children need a structured system
We have to find ways to engage them
Invest in the army for those who do not want to go to school
All the doctors in the Ministry of Education
Are looking to pad up and help their Alma Maters
They do not look at the extenuating and over arching factors
They are about helping the Anglican, the Methodist and the Catholics
They are there for their own self interests
Hence the reason that it is nonsense what they now suggest
Then they are forcing the masses to ingest and digest

We have the same problem with UB every year
The amalgamation of UB was done in a similar manner
Without consultations with all the stake holders
So people go to UB because they have no other choice
For some it takes six or more years to do a Bachelors degree
Having to wait till a certain course is offered
When the campus transferred, some had to go to Belmopan
It’s just all sort of confusion and so is this one
Belize lack truly lacks visionary planners and negotiators

Even if this move is a cost effective measure
Look at the CET now ITVET program
There is only one on the way to reaching the bar
Orange Walk ITVET dih function and Belize City dih play catch up!
And in Dangriga, well dat is used fuh hospital, concerts and workshop
These only have some thirty students on an average for what it’s worth
So too does the ITVET in Cayo, how is that for comfort?
What surprising is we have former high school educators?
Siding with an incompetent minister, singing for their supper
Caritas, Genity, Armstrong, Carol, the Chief and CEO
A chief who was principal of Sacred Heart, oh!
All people familiar with secondary schools so they should know better
CEO came out of sixth form, tertiary and higher!
Brenda –Wesley College leader
Caritas- St. Catherine’s
Carol – primary school manager
Genity- E.P Yorke fuh yearz as headmaster
They know exactly what is facing the secondary schools
And to turn around now and merge three schools into one
They are breaking down an entire community and distablizing the whole country
Each school able to fit at least three hundred, four maximum, maybe
This merger eliminates five hundred kids already
This was done with the national university
And twice wid south side pickney
I am talking about Excelsior specifically

Whenever our country gets monies for programs
We do not prioritize we sing the songs of donors
We clearly do not know where we’re going as a nation
Three schools with not enough students
There are sufficient kids out here that are not enrolled in schools that can fill these three schools
When we have thousands of students not going to school
We have the population to fill all three schools night and day
That should have been their first priority, followed by getting all teachers qualified to fit into the country’s strategy
Because teachers have challenges just as the students, some cannot cope with teaching children from predatory environments
Despite Caritas boasting about principals managing these criminal elements

The finance reform wit places like SCA that took student with 80s and 90s
High-end schools were looking for 50s and 60s to pad up their finances
Now they are the ones getting 20s and 30s this is part of the reality
The bulk is not in school because of social economic issues
Many of them can’t pay to go to school
This whole thing about free education is just a lot of talk
There need to be more incentives
The night school is practically free one hundred dollars dah all they pay
If students can do that for the night, then extend it to the day
When last did they give the first top ten graduates a scholarship opportunity
This would be a motivational possibility

They say they are creating something for the south-side schools
But exempt Gwen Liz out of it
Being in the Minister’s constituency they get everything
What about the caliber of students they are taking in?
You can’t expect a student who got 20s on PSE to do ten CXCs
Even on a good day that’s an impossibility
We have counselors but have no career coaches in schools
If that would be implemented it would help some people
A lot of kids at the second form level take certain subjects just because of friends
They need to diversify the subjects and create more opportunity

They talk about computer literacy at high school
That is for primary school they should be more advanced at primary school
At high school they should be drawing, making music and manipulating other computer programs
Yet they put the cart before the horse and at high school do reading programs
Notwithstanding this is a new era
Why do we have retirees planning our future?
When we are moving into new millennia?
Why not use a teacher 45-50 to create a new curriculum with cadre of new teachers?

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