MOE Continues to Work with Police to Ensure Safety of High School Students

In response to crime and violence that has been occurring in the southern neighborhoods of Belize City, particularly as it trickles into school compounds, police are considering placing police officers in these schools. The police presence is aimed at deterring violence and ensuring the safety of the students and teachers. The Minister of Education, Francis Fonseca, says that while there are instances of violence within classrooms, they are trying to avoid having to go down the route of having a heavy police presence in a place of learning. 

Hon.Francis Fonseca, Minister of Education: “We do work closely with the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Belize Police Department. In some schools there are challenges you know and obviously we need to work more closely with the police but I certainly don’t want to see schools become areas where we have under heavy police guard, that should not be the case. So we have to find I think creative ways of ensuring that schools are secure, that our students and teachers are safe when they’re at school. We have to do that you know so I think more likely it means that we’ll have to strengthen our whole truancy department, the school warden system will have to be upgraded but we will continue to work with the Belize Police Department because safety and security is a critical issue and I know we’ve had a few incidents recently you know of violence in schools so you know in cases where that takes place then we call in the police but I certainly as I said I don’t want to go in the direction of us having police you know overwhelming police presence on any school campus.”