Ministry Pressed for Action as Garden City Special Ed Class Shuts Down

Some parents in Belmopan are frustrated and demanding answers after a sudden decision left their children without a classroom. Just days before the new school year, the Special Education class at Garden City Primary was shut down, leaving families scrambling. While students across the country returned to school this morning, these parents were told their kids won’t have a classroom for at least two weeks. To make matters worse, they’ve already paid fees and bought uniforms, expecting their children to stay at Garden City. Now, they’re being told to move to another school, and with both principals on leave, parents say they have nowhere to turn. Here’s more.

 

Zenida Lanza, Reporting

It’s the first day of school for many children across Belize, but for about ten special needs students in Belmopan, it’s another day of sitting at home with their parents. They were told that no classrooms were ready for them just yet. At the very last minute, the new Special Education course was moved to United Evergreen Primary School. But, as of now, there are no posters, no decorations, and no teachers for the next two weeks. For the parents, the issue goes beyond a simple delay, rather their children are being overlooked. They believe that students with special needs are not being prioritized and are calling on the Ministry of Education for immediate action. Today, frustrated parents told us how they have been affected.

 

Sherlet Neal Lopez, Grandmother

“I was very emotional this morning. I felt that the students’ right to an education is not being taken seriously. I met several other parents who were very emotional. They were crying and they were looking at their kids. The kids were dressed for school. They were all excited. They saw other students entering their classrooms, and they had to be turned back home. For me, I think it’s unfair.”

 

 

 

Right now, no one is stepping up to take responsibility and parents are worried. They fear this sudden change could derail their child’s progress. For kids who thrive on routine, even a short disruption can mean a big setback.

 

 

 

 

Michelle Lopez, Parent

“There’s no clear plan as to what we would do with these children, right? So that’s why we’re out here today, because we want to know what’s going on. Why the children are being- because it seems to be a finger pointing, where the management is pointing in one direction and then, of course, ministry is pointing in another direction, the school is pointing in another direction. So we just want that clear communication as to what will happen to our children, because our children can’t be treated as outcasts. Even though they are small in number, there might be only two at Evergreen and six here at Garden City, but the point is these children need the resources. To get the education that they need, that’s their right and it’s the ministry’s and the government’s responsibility to ensure that these children are given that right.”

 

Parents of former students who helped establish the special needs classrooms years ago said that they also faced the same struggles then. Even though their children have graduated, they feel that parents need to stand in solidarity to address the issue.

 

 

 

 

Kamil Espat, Parent of Former Student

“Why did they have to wait until this morning to say that there is no classroom for their children, no teacher, no anybody? We, the older parents, our kids are out of school for so many years, are willing to stand up and come with the other parents and do something about this. Our children, our grandchildren, whoever comes in the future and needs a classroom like this, needs somebody to stand up for them and they have all rights, and all whatever they need to be in a classroom.”

 

The overall question comes from one concerned grandmother, representing all the other families.

 

Sherlet Neal Lopez

“For the Ministry of Education, I want to know if the right to an education extends to all kids, or it doesn’t extend to the special needs kids? Because if it extends to the special needs kids, there is no reason why this morning these kids are not in school. So let’s fix this. This is really for me, the main issue. We as parents need for you to communicate with us, we need for you to consider the needs of these children, and we need for you to fix this, right? We have to be considered in this equation.”

 

 

For these parents, the priority is simple, getting their children back in the classroom without further delay. Now, all eyes are on the Ministry of Education to explain why the program was closed and what comes next. Zenida Lanza reporting for News Five.