Can Stronger School Leaders Change Belize’s Education System? 

A 16-week programme in Dangriga is betting on stronger school leadership. 

BUILD, founded by Dr. Louis Zabaneh in 2014, has partnered with the Ministry of Education to train principals and administrators from Stann Creek and Toledo in competency-based education. 

Fifty participants, split evenly between both districts, make up the pilot group. 

“Since 2014, we have undertaken a number of trainings,” Zabaneh said. He pointed at training such as job interview preparation to emotional intelligence workshops to cell phone repair training with the Taiwanese Embassy and ICDF. “And now we’re preparing a master’s level pilot course on competency-based education,” he added. 

Facilitator Dr. Consuela Godfrey added, “We want to be able to ensure our leaders’ capacity is being built so that not only they can implement and observe what’s happening in their institution as it relates to competency-based education, but that they’re able to give the type of feedback that would help the teachers move the needle forward,” Godfrey said.

Dangriga Mayor Robert Mariano called the programme a source of pride for the town, stating, “Our people, the people that you represent, the people that I represent and the people that all of us represent will be benefitting from this institution. And I’m so proud to know that it starts out of Dangriga.”

The first cohort will complete the programme over 16 weeks, with organisers planning to track the results of their school projects during the following semester.