By Belize Live News Staff: The Ministry of Education in Belize has announced that 122 out of more than 130 teachers, who have faced months of delayed salaries, will be paid by the end of this week. The teachers, many of whom were removed from the SmartStream payment system despite having proper credentials, had expressed their frustrations earlier in the week, calling the situation a crisis.
According to a press release issued by the Ministry, 122 names have been submitted for an off-cycle payment to address the delay. The Treasury Department has confirmed that the funds should be in the teachers’ accounts by this evening. However, discrepancies remain for some teachers. The Ministry’s review found that 12 of the 130 teachers were duplicates and that 43 teachers had already received their payments, further narrowing the number of unresolved cases.
For the remaining 27 teachers, the Ministry is working with school management to resolve their cases as soon as possible, with the goal of having their salaries processed later this month.
The Belize National Teachers Union (BNTU) has been vocal about the issue, stating that the payment delays have caused unnecessary stress on the affected teachers. The Union continues to push for a swift resolution for the remaining cases.
