their children's education in an Island-wide effort to improve standards in schools.

Following comments made by one of Bermuda's top academics about the poor state of public education, people from all aspects of schooling, including some parents, have said everybody should be accountable when it came to learning.

A number of people have contacted The Royal Gazette to voice concerns about Gov ernment schools.

Many of them blamed Government, some accused teachers and principals of failing children, and others said the system needed to be completely overhauled. But every single caller, including teachers, said too many parents had no involvement whatsoever in the teaching and schooling of their children.

One middle school teacher, who did not wish to named, agreed that the public education system was in total disarray and should be completely overhauled, starting with the closure of the Education Ministry. But she said teachers were not given support from Government or parents, making their task almost impossible.

She said: "I would say we have three parents out of every 100 that are genuinely interested in the education of their child. It is shocking.

"I am a teacher, but I also have two children and I believe that education begins at home and continues at home.

"Steps should be taken to make parents more accountable for their children's progress.'' She said there was a lot of disquiet among teachers at the moment and she had put her children in private school because she had little faith in the public sector.

"The Ministry seems to create an atmosphere of resentment and fear,'' she added.

`Parents must get involved' "Teachers are not being consulted and are constantly being told to change their programmes but the one thing that we should be sure of is the constant commitment and support from parents and at the moment it is not there.'' Education Minister Milton Scott last night appealed for parents to be pro-active in their child's learning by visiting the school, talking to teachers and spending time with their youngsters.

He said: "Parental involvement is essential if we are going to deal with some of the challenges that face us. Reading with children, talking to children, quiet time with children, and effective supervision can really improve their overall ability.

"But it is not just parents, it is communities as a whole. We need to make schools community centres and get everyone involved.'' On Monday The Royal Gazette reported vice president of Bermuda College Dr.

Donald Peters claims that the public education system was failing children and should be taken away from the Ministry.

He said many 16 year olds were leaving school with an average ability of 13 year olds and about 70 percent of students who applied to do courses at the college did not meet the criteria.

Backbencher Dale Butler, who is a former secondary school principal, said parents had to take some of the blame. He said many never spoke more than two or three words at a time to their children.

The result, he claimed, was students had poor vocabulary, communication skills and literacy.

He said: "Schools have to get parents on board because their input is so important to a child's upbringing and education.

"Parents are not supportive of principals and teachers. They think it is ok when little Johnny only scores ten out of 20 in a spelling test. Well, that is not good enough.

"In many households there is no conversation, no guidance, no motivation and no discipline.'' General secretary of Bermuda Union of Teachers Michael Charles also urged parents to get behind their youngsters, but he said sometimes it was the parents themselves who needed help.

He added: "If parents are not involved in education they run the risk of losing their children altogether.

"But one of the problems we have at the moment is that there are so many young people having children when really they are still children themselves.

"They are unable to look after themselves at 16 and 17, never mind act as a responsible parent to a child. They don't have any skills at being parents and this is where the community needs to step in and help.'' A man from Pembroke, who has a daughter at private school but didn't wish to be named, said: "I believe it is every child's basic right to have a decent education and the Government system is not providing it.'' A mother in Bailey's Bay, who has two youngsters at primary school, said she agreed with Shadow Education Minister Tim Smith in that some kind of inspection body should be set up to regulate schools.