Education Minister Says He Will Work with New B.N.T.U. President

Nadia Martin-Caliz was chosen, by a convincing margin on Thursday, by members of the Belize National Teachers’ Union as their new National President. Martin-Caliz said after her re-election that she wants to shift the direction from where the B.N.T.U was going. She campaigned for the presidency on the platform of job security and better benefits for teachers, among other things. And today, Minister of Education, Francis Fonseca told us that he looks forward to working with President Caliz for the betterment of the education system in Belize. 

 

Francis Fonseca, Minister of Education

“As Minister of Education, I have always tried to have a very good, respectful working relationship with the BNTU regardless of who was in office. I expect that to be the case here with the newly-elected president, Mrs Caliz. I know she has been a long-standing member of the B.N.T.U., has held many positions in the B.N.T.U, has been at the forefront of the advocacy on behalf of the B.N.T.U., so it’s someone who I have great respect for and I look forward to working with her and her team, who were elected last year to advance what I view as shared goals and objectives for education. Some people tend to believe that the B.N.T.U and the Ministry of Education are at odds, that we are in different places. Yes, we have different responsibilities and roles, but I have always said to my colleagues and friends in the B.N.T.U that I believe there is more that we share in terms of what we want to achieve for education in Belize, than what separates us. So I look forward to working with the new president in a spirit of respect, and dialogue and engagement. So my doors are open and I think as long as we have that mutual respect and, commitment to dialogue, I think we will have a good working relationship. It doesn’t mean we won’t have differences of opinion., but I think we both have a commitment to ensuring that we have a good education system that serves the needs of our teachers, serves the needs of our students, serves the needs of our families and ultimately serves the needs of our country Belize.”