Greater scrutiny for alternative schooling

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Government’s pledge to keep closer watch on alternative education is welcome news for Bermuda Union of Teachers leader Mike Charles.

“There are quite a few students being home-schooled — you’d be surprised,” he told The Royal Gazette.

But the veteran teacher expressed frustration that technical schooling still isn’t a priority for Government’s educational agenda.

“It’s something sorely needed, and I still don’t see it. We keep hearing references to Job Corps, but I don’t see that technical side. We need it at the middle school level.”

Jobs Corps Bermuda, touched upon in Friday’s Throne Speech, is a programme aimed at getting young people into full-time employment.

“Where is it?” Mr Charles asked. “We all know not every child is going to be an academic. But they don’t offer anything and just keep on giving lip service.”

He acknowledged that the Career Pathways programme offering work experience is up and running for the Berkeley Institute and CedarBridge Academy.

“That’s still different than offering a technical, vocational education,” he said.

“We have schools with students who are either turned off or don’t see what they’re being taught as useful. I’m not saying a technical curriculum is going to be a panacea, but it’s something. We still have a one-size-fits-all system.”

Education Minister Dame Jennifer Smith’s speech elaborating on Throne Speech initiatives got high marks for addressing unregistered alternative education.

Dame Jennifer noted “concerns” over the health, safety and quality of schooling going on beneath Government’s radar.

In her speech, the Minister added that while such cases hadn’t been documented, there were also concerns over truancy and “the possibility ... of there being children who are not enrolled in any school — public, private, home-school or tutorial site”.

She said there had been “limited enforcement” of compulsory attendance and registration — and Dame Jennifer called the current rules “outdated and insufficient” for the supervision of unlicensed schools and tutorial sites.

Consequently, legislation dating back to 1987 will be repealed and replaced.

Mr Charles said the concerns mentioned by the Minister were shared by teachers.

“Children attending home schools are going to be held to the same type of standards that children in the school system are,” he said. “You have in some cases children going back and forth between home school and the public school system, and no oversight over the home schools. Evidently there will be rules introduced allowing the Minister to track these — hopefully.”

Adding that “talk is easy”, the BUT head said he was accustomed to taking Throne Speeches with “a grain of salt”.

Mr Charles said he appreciated the Ministry’s consultation with school PTAs, referenced in the Governor’s Throne Speech.

That move followed on an August ruling by Chief Justice Ian Kawaley quashing Government’s decision to transfer two popular school principals without discussing it with PTAs.

“That kind of transparency is great,” Mr Charles said. “But I hope the PTAs are very active as well, because what happens in a lot of cases is just a few people take part.

“I know what happens at the primary level because I was there — there’s good attendance in the first few years, but as the student goes up in grades, attendance drops off. This is a time you need parents the most.”

Other Government initiatives concerning education:

l Early screening of learning, psychology and development skills, currently offered by the Child Development Programme at the two-year-old level, is to be extended to children aged two to three, and made mandatory;

l Amendments to the Bermuda Government Scholarships Act and Regulations to provide for students with special needs — and to set funding limits “consistent with the requirements of overseas institutions”;

l The establishment of rules for parents to report to the Minister on student progress;

l Formalising student withdrawal policies, and setting rules for the registration of tutorial sites and private schools.

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