Belize Technical College

Belize Technical College was established as a high school and later junior college for Belizeans that did not excel in academic pursuits. It was founded in September 1952 as a four year high school but before long adopted junior college level status. In August 2000, it merged with four similar institutions to form the University of Belize.

Legacy in Belize

The list of graduates of Belize Technical College is as long as the campus is wide, and the names are too many to mention here. Amandala publisher Evan X Hyde briefly taught at Technical in 1969-70 and has been one of the most vocal advocates for reviving it.

In 1981, Belize became embroiled in the dispute over the Heads of Agreement, and in late March when riots began in the streets of Belize City, Technical students led by Socorro Bobadilla were right in the middle of it.

Technical's engineering program has always been one of its main staples and indeed was one of the few intact programs carried over to UB.

The BTC held its last graduation in June 2000.

Controversy over grounds

In early November of 2006, the University announced that its facilities on the Technical campus would be upgraded to accommodate a new vocational training project, the ITVET. Students at the campus were up in arms over possibly having to vacate the campus and rumors that the campus was for sale.

Student activist Moses Sulph and current City Councillor and UB student Phillip Willoughby roused students to action, demanding and receiving a meeting with University President Dr. Corinth Morter-Lewis in which the proposed upgrade was discussed. President Lewis maintained that the campus was not for sale and was not being given away to the Government; UB students would not be inconvenienced by construction. Minor protests were held at the main campus in Belmopan and on the streets of Belize City, and the incident has earned media attention. Regardless of the students' pleas, construction is slated to start in January 2007.

See also

• University of Belize