On February 7, 2025, thousands of Belize National Teachers Union (BNTU) members gathered in Belmopan to protest the Government of Belize’s handling of their salaries and benefits. The protest was part of a broader campaign called “Value Teachers, We Matter,” which aimed at highlighting systemic issues within the education system. Among the protesters were many teachers from San Pedro schools.
In an interview with Channel 5, BNTU President Nadia Caliz emphasized the need for better school management systems to ensure the timely payment of teachers’ salaries and benefits. “Some management teams are faltering. They’re not pulling their weight. Now that they are going in, they realize what we have been saying is true. Some of these management teams lack the personnel required to support the large number of teachers you see here. The ministry, and even the government, need to stop using a hands-on approach. They should create policies and allow management to implement them. This must change. As they investigate, they are finding exactly what the teachers have reported. When they shared their findings with us, we couldn’t argue because we know that this is indeed happening.”
Caliz also pointed out the issues with an outdated system affecting more than 2,000 teachers. “We applaud them for bringing to our attention—something we already knew but didn’t have concrete figures for—that while we are advocating for 658 teachers, there are over 2,000 teachers impacted by this, what I would describe as an archaic and crazy system. It’s outdated and antiquated, and they acknowledge that. They have already begun to put systems in place to correct these issues, as they shared this information with us. Some teachers don’t even have a file, and there is so much missing documentation. Money must follow the paper, so they are now collaborating with management to gather all the missing paperwork to ensure that these teachers receive what they are owed.”
Teacher Ifasina Efunyemi from Dangriga participated in the protest and explained its necessity, stating, “There is a lot of background work that needs to be done to verify why we are not receiving the pay we have already worked for. This isn’t a matter for the future; we have already earned this. Teachers are working under very difficult conditions. Even if some of us have received our increments, it doesn’t mean everyone has, and we must stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters who are still suffering. That’s what a union is about.”
Before the protest, the Ministry of Education acknowledged these issues and has been collaborating with the BNTU to find solutions. Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade, Education, Culture, Science and Technology, Honorable Francis Fonseca, stated, “We remain committed to resolving these issues in dialogue with the BNTU.” Despite the progress made by late December, when almost all due payments were processed except for about five percent, further action was deemed necessary, as many were still awaiting their increments.
The union has arranged additional meetings with government officials. Calize pointed out that these meetings occur frequently because they want the ministry to provide updates on their progress, and so far, the ministry has been responsive. This protest represents a significant turning point, launching a broader campaign focused on achieving systemic change rather than temporary solutions. For now, the teachers are awaiting the ministry’s next move.
Share
Read more
