Education Ministry to build 60+ preschool facilities

By William Ysaguirre (Freelance Writer)

BELIZE CITY, Thurs. Apr. 23, 2026

     The Ministry of Education will be constructing 60 new classrooms for primary schools in communities which have no preschools at present, but have a large number of children of preschool age, and will additionally rehabilitate 30 existing preschools to improve learning environments and teaching quality, as part of a new Belize Early Childhood Development and Female Empowerment Project.

   The World Bank will fund the project through a US$1.28 million grant from the Early Learning Partnership, and the Bank’s concessional lending arm, the International Development Association, will be providing Belize a soft loan of up to US$23.5 million.

   The project will establish or upgrade around 80 early development centers in partnership with communities, community organizations and private providers to offer developmental services for children up to age 4. The aim is to create opportunities for women and future generations, and expand Belizean children’s access to a quality, inclusive education, while improving climate resilience.

   The goal is to increase women’s participation in the workforce by addressing young mothers’ need for proper childcare so they can find jobs, while creating jobs in early childhood education and childcare. Belizean women’s participation rate in the labor force is 43.6 percent, below the regional average. The 2022 census showed that 65 percent of mothers with young children under 5 years of age left their jobs to care for their families; which was more than twice the number for mothers without young children. The rates are even higher in rural and Mayan communities.

   Only 39 percent of 3- and 4-year-olds were enrolled in preschool for the 2023-24 school year, as there are only 24 registered daycare centers, all located in Belize’s municipalities. The statistical evidence shows that children who attended preschool were more ready to learn when they entered primary school, achieved more academically, repeated fewer years with fewer dropouts, and became the foundation of a more skilled and productive workforce.    “Access to quality education and care is as much an economic issue, as it is an education one. When caregivers can trust that their children are in safe, nurturing environments, they are free to participate fully in the economy and society,” said Lilia Burunciuc, World Bank Director for the Caribbean. “This project invests in both Belize’s youngest citizens and the women who care for them,” she said.