Ocean Academy High School on Caye Caulker, Belize, has been compelled to suspend all in-person instruction following a damning environmental health report that identified severe flooding, pervasive mold infestation, and dangerous mosquito breeding grounds throughout the campus. The alarming conditions, documented in a November 18th inspection by the Central Health Region’s Environmental Health Unit, present immediate health risks to students and staff, particularly those with respiratory conditions.
The school’s three-story structure, built on low-lying land, has suffered from worsening flooding due to surrounding development on higher elevations, creating a problematic basin effect. Despite repeated mitigation efforts—including floor elevation projects, pumping thousands of liters of water, and quarterly engineering assessments—the institution has been unable to resolve the chronic issues.
In response to the crisis, Ocean Academy has implemented a fragmented hybrid learning model, scattering classes across available spaces above local bars, shops, and village council offices. This makeshift arrangement has significantly compromised educational quality, with students attending sessions without proper desks, chairs, or teaching aids while balancing notebooks on their laps.
The situation is particularly frustrating for the community given the unfulfilled promise of a new campus funded through a $70 million Caribbean Development Bank loan approved in 2015. Despite a ceremonial groundbreaking in 2019 attended by education officials, the designated 5.17-acre site remains vacant five years later. Political leadership changes between the United Democratic Party and People’s United Party administrations, coupled with cited administrative delays and COVID-19 impacts, have stalled construction indefinitely.
Current Area Representative Andre Perez has characterized the 2019 ceremony as merely performative while asserting that legitimate construction will commence by May 2026. However, community trust has eroded after years of unmet commitments, leaving students to endure substandard learning conditions with no permanent solution in sight.