MOE Discusses Temporary Buildings for Caye Caulker Students

Senior officials from the Ministry of Education, joined by Belize Rural South Area Representative Andre Perez, met this week with the Caye Caulker Village Council and the Ocean Academy Board of Governors to advance plans for a new pre-primary facility and government high school on the island.

The meeting focused on the timeline for construction and temporary arrangements to ensure students continue receiving instruction safely while the projects are underway.

Perez described the session as productive and reassuring for the community. “True to our promise held last week when we met with parents and teachers, the community at large, they were very concerned about the issues affecting the Ocean Academy. So we had the team from the Ministry of Education do a site visit and actually make all the plans on what they’re going to be building,” he said.

With construction expected to last 12 to 13 months, officials are exploring solutions to minimise disruption. One option is a temporary structure at the nearby Catholic primary school. “The issue was actually planning out and saying, can we have something on the side to mitigate?… So the option that was discussed is perhaps considering building a temporary structure on the primary school, the Catholic school,” Perez explained.

Community members had raised about $100,000 to support a temporary facility, but Perez said the ministry cautioned against investing heavily in a facility that would be used for a limited time. “We got to be practical,” he said.

Perez also clarified that once government investment begins, the institution will transition into a public secondary school. “Whatever is built there eventually becomes what is called the government high school,” Perez said. “It’s not going to be Ocean Academy anymore.”