By Marina Esplin-Jones Growing unrest among parents and teachers over the education system is threatening to boil over into protest action.

Citing "an escalating lack of confidence'' in Education Minister the Hon.

Clarence Terceira, the National Parent Teachers Association has called an "urgent meeting'' of all PTA heads next Tuesday, its vice president Mr.

Daniel Robinson confirmed yesterday.

Mr. Robinson said a meeting of National PTA executives this week revealed major dissatisfaction with the current state of the schools and the system.

The meeting was supposed to be for National Drug Commission head Mr. Mansfield Brock to outline drug testing proposals for schools.

However, it was overshadowed by other "pressing'' issues. These, Mr. Robinson said, included: "Drugs and violence in schools, the Dellwood and Northlands situation, the overall restructuring of the education system and an escalating lack of confidence in the Education Ministry and the Minister.

"We have called a meeting of all PTA representatives and these issues will be discussed and a course of action to take will be decided on.'' Mr. Robinson declined to say what sort of action would most likely be considered.

But Dellwood Primary School parents are considering a protest march through Hamilton.

Angered over Government's plan to make Northlands a middle school in 1997 and send their children there, a spokeswoman said on Monday they would be voting this week on whether to march in the streets.

Mrs. Mary Samuels, who chairs the Dellwood restructuring committee, said parents felt the Northlands site was inadequate for children between five and ten-years-old and was lacking in "green'' play areas.

"What message are we sending our young people in the community when our prisoners have better educational tools and facilities in a Government prison than our children have in a public school?,'' she demanded.

Dr. Terceira has said that using Roberts Avenue as an alternative to Dellwood for the new middle school in 1997, would require "construction of virtually a new school,'' costing about $22 million.

By contrast, less than $1 million would be spent on Northlands, he said.

Dellwood parents' and the National PTA's concerns are the latest in a month of attacks on the education system and plans for creating middle schools at existing high schools and one large senior secondary school at Prospect, to be a sister to Berkeley.

Drug policies was another issue Dr. Terceira came under attack for this month.

Shadow Minister Miss Jennifer Smith MP said he had left schools to formulate their own policies instead of acting on the advice of the 1982 First Report of the Royal Commission into the Use and Misuse of Illicit Drugs and Alcohol and 1987 Education Planning Team Report.

"The public announcement by Dellwood Primary School principal Mr. Dale Butler concerning selling drugs on school property and the subsequent setting up of a Parent Patrol Group at the school, combined with the announcement that Berkeley Institute has instituted a policy for drug testing students, highlights the fact that the Ministry of Education has failed,'' Miss Smith said.

She added that both reports called for an explicit policy concerning alcohol/drug use as well as approved curricula, trained teachers and intervention and educational programmes.

Dr. Terceira responded that the Ministry for the last few years had had the Life Skills programme in schools which was aimed at alcohol and drug abuse prevention.

He also said the Ministry was working very closely with the NDC on methods of intervention and treatment.

"To say that Berkeley Institute came up with their drugs programme on their own is wrong because I met with Berkeley's school board and the National Drug Commission,'' Dr. Terceira said.