Minister Requena Continues School Tours to Strengthen Education

Minister of Education Oscar Requena has been conducting a familiarization tour in southern Belize this week, meeting with the management of secondary schools. Since receiving the portfolio for education in March, Requena has been meeting at the district level with school managers to learn about their ongoing work and share the vision of the ministry for improving education. Love News Senior Toledo Correspondent Paul Mahung caught up with the minister during his tour.

Paul Mahung, Punta Toledo Correspondent: Minister of Education, Science and Technology, Honorable Oscar Requena, completed a familiarization visit and participated in discussions with staff of Ministry of Education District Education Center and three secondary schools in Toledo. Minister Requena described the visits as meaningful as his meeting sessions with administration staff and board members were productive as he was warmly welcomed at all locations in Punta Gorda and rural Toledo.

Oscar Requena, Minister of Education: “We’re very happy to have completed a familiarization tour Thursday and Friday here in the Toledo district. I must say that this is a deliberate visit. During the two days, we had the opportunity to be able to visit Toledo District Education Center. Toledo Community College, Julian Cho Technical High School, and we are completing our visit at the Toledo ITVET. The purpose of the visit really is to engage the staff at the Toledo District Education Center to share with them our vision, our mission, and vision, the Ministry of Education, the role of the District Education Center, in the delivery of educational services to the stakeholders we serve, to listen to the concerns and issues that they have, and really to see how best as a team we can work together to ensure the efficient and effective delivery of educational services to our stakeholders. We also had the opportunity to visit the high schools and really to see firsthand the programs  that the schools are engaged in. And I must say that we very happy to see that there is deliberate effort and great effort at implementing great programs at our secondary schools.”

Paul Mahung, Punta Toledo Correspondent: Minister Requena commented that he looks forward to continued familiarization visits to Ministry of Education centers  and educational institutions nationwide. Paul Mahung, Love News, Toledo.