Educational Facilities
The Belizean school system is based on British education and broken into three levels: primary, secondary, and tertiary. Belizean children begin their eight years of primary education with two years of "infant" classes, followed by six "standards." Secondary education is divided into four "forms." Sixth form is a two-year postsecondary course, originally intended to prepare students for the Cambridge Advanced or "A-Level" examinations. However, since the early 1970s, sixth-form institutions have also bestowed Associate of Arts degrees sanctioned by the United States Association of Junior Colleges.

Other post-secondary institutions included Belize Teachers' College, the Belize School of Nursing, and the Belize College of Agriculture, in addition to UCB. Belize contributes to and participates in the multinational University of the West Indies, which maintains a small extramural department in Belize City.

Management of the educational system varies according to level. In the latter half of the 1980s, religious denominations controlled the majority of primary schools, but the government or private, community-based boards of governors administered more than 50 percent of the secondary institutions. The preponderance of government institutions at the secondary level is a relatively new development; as recently as 1980, the majority of secondary schools were under religious management. Still, denominational representatives retained considerable influence on the managing boards of private, nondenominational, institutions.

Secondary schools also differ according to curriculum and cultural orientation. Most private and denominational schools emphasized academic and commercial studies, although some offer technical-vocational programs. In contrast, the government directly manages nine schools, all of which offer a curriculum oriented to technical-vocational subjects.