Principals of secondary schools convened in San Pedro Town on April 26th and 27th at the Sunbreeze Hotel Conference Room for the annual conference of the Belize Association of Principals of Secondary Schools. The host principal was Emil Vasquez of the San Pedro High School. This year the conference focused on “Discipline; the legal aspect.”
According to Chairperson of the principal’s association Maria Johnston, three lawyers and a representative of the Ministry of Education were invited to be a part of a panel. “We invited them to enlighten us on the education act and to assist us to align our student’s hand book regarding due process when it comes to disciplinary action with children so that we don’t act in contravention to the law or constitution of Belize,” said Johnston. She explained that while discipline is a problem in the secondary schools, it is more “litigious” in city schools when parents choose not to work with the management of the schools to discipline their children. It is the hope of the association that with the legal insight, they will be able to put measures in place that will address such issues of disciplinary action in secondary schools.
When questioned about some of the main challenges faced by secondary schools’ management, Johnston said that the most common issues are fights and violence, use and abuse of alcohol and students found attending functions at night clubs. When questioned whether the relevant authorities favor some students over others in executing discipline, Johnston said they’ve learnt that “Discipline really begins with counseling but the first step is the investigative part then we implement the disciplinary process. I just think that all of us, even teachers, need to act fairly.” And while students fear discipline, Johnston said that, “our rules are there for a purpose.” So then what is the purpose of rules at school? Johnston explained that “it is there to ensure that our students gain the academic knowledge, the moral worth so that at the end of four years, they are entitled to their diploma.”
For Johnston, the conference, which had the participation of some 42 principals out of 50 secondary schools in the entire country, was very successful and upbeat with many healthy discussions. Participating attorneys were Lisa Montalvo, Chris Coye and Michele Dailey, while the Ministry of Education was represented by Jamor Lopez. Following their two days of conference, the principals were treated to a catamaran cruise along the shoreline of Ambergris Caye.
