The growing racial divide in schooling is caused by a lack of confidence in the public system, says Opposition Acting Education Spokesman Jahmal Simmons.

His comments come after Sandys Middle School principal Melyvn Bassett said public schools were now mostly the preserve of working class blacks which would create long divisions if the races did not grow up alongside each other.

Mr. Simmons said he was glad Dr. Bassett had raised the issue of the growing re-segregation of Bermuda?s public schools.

He said: ?We have a responsibility to insure that diversity, which sometimes seems to come so easily for our children, is allowed to grow and prosper.

?When we look at the increasing numbers of parents, both black and white, who choose to take their children out of public education system, it is a symptom of an ever-worsening problem. The real issue is that more and more parents are losing confidence in the ability of the public school system to provide their children with the tools they need to succeed in 21st century Bermuda.

?This loss of confidence is making parents who really can?t afford private school fees, make huge sacrifices in the hopes that their children will receive a quality education.

He said this loss of confidence is placing a burden on far too many of our people and is contributing to the re-segregation of public schools and a growing divide between the haves and have-nots.

?We must commit ourselves to improving standards and make restoring confidence in our education system a national priority.?

He said Government must ensure every teacher is licensed and given the resources and training.

Bermuda Union of Teachers General Secretary Mike Charles agreed Dr. Bassett had raised a valid point about potential social problems in store if the matter wasn?t addressed.

But he said strides were being made in the public education system. ?The bottom line is the system has to prove itself. If it is proven you will see middle class come back.? He said middle class whites would then follow.

He said CedarBridge had improved under the principal Kalmar Richards while GCSE results at Berkeley in Spanish had been encouraging.

Mr. Charles said he was encouraged the Education Ministry had acknowledged standards needed to be increased.

But he said it was far from proven that private schools were better as there were no comparative results. He noted integration at the primary level in the state sector was better than at senior level and cited Port Royal and Gilbert as good examples.

But he said forced integration through busing was not the way to go. ?People should be encouraged.?

Questions were e-mailed to Education Terry Lister yesterday but there was no response by press time last night.

Warwick Academy principal Robert Lennox said he was in the lucky position of having a school which reflected the racial demographic of Bermuda very closely.

He said race was no longer an issue at the school which had embraced integration by opting into the public system in 1966.

The key was to make all races feel embraced and valued ? a process which started with the principal and permeated all the way through.

Saltus principal Nigel Kermode said he believed his school was 60 percent white and 40 percent black and 75 percent Bermudian.

He said the school had attempted to improve its demographic by offering scholarships and bursaries worth around $500,000 a year.

But he said his school also included children from working class black families who sometimes work two jobs to pay the fees.

The situation reflected the growing uncertainty over the quality being offered by the public sector said Mr. Kermode.

He said the state sector included some able children and teachers but there were also some profound problems and political involvement in education had generated some of the uncertainty.

Asked if it was right that working class families felt they had to scrimp and save to pay for private education after paying for public education through taxes Mr. Kermode said: ?It?s a parlous state of affairs.

?It?s indicative of the concern parents have for the success of their children.?

He said Bermuda?s specialised economy made academic qualifications especially prized for jobs in the corporate world.