No Campus, No Classrooms for Caye Caulker High School

Classes are back in session at Ocean Academy in Caye Caulker, but without a campus. The island’s only high school has started the new term in borrowed spaces, including community centers and repurposed buildings, as its main campus remains closed and classrooms remain out of reach for students. With flooding, mold, and other safety concerns having previously driven in-person classes to a halt, parents, teachers, and students are urging swift action to secure safe learning spaces. Now, the Ministry of Education, under Minister Francis Fonseca, is under pressure to step in with solutions, weighing community fundraising efforts, government led construction plans and formal approvals needed for new classroom buildings.

 

Noemi Zaiden, Principal, Ocean Academy

“Where we are at right now, like this week we have the use of both rooms but last week and understandably so, the community center was booked – it had already been booked. So we only had access to one space and that then starts to impact in terms of its not easy to have online classes when it comes to the electives. When it comes to – well just classes in general. It has not been easy. It’s been over three weeks now we’ve not been in our campus.  And so, you know, it’s starting to wear on just even the resilience of the teachers and the students.”

 

Francis Fonseca, Minister of Education

“We have discussions now taking place that I think we will provide Ocean Academy with access to land that we have, the Ministry of Education land that we will build on so that they can set up temporary structures there to meet the immediate needs. But I will make the point that Ocean Academy is a private school. This is not a government school. People should understand that. So the government has no obligation to do anything for them. Of course we want to make sure that we are meeting the needs of the Caye Caulker community. And so we are going to work with the area representative. We’re going to work with Ocean Academy and other stakeholders, education stakeholders in Caye Caulker to find a solution, short term solution. But the good news is that we have a long term solution, which as I said, is a multimillion dollar project for Caye Caulker, which will see brand new schools, primary schools and high school built that will serve for generations to come.”