The Berkeley Institute's board of governors has rejected a plan for a fee-paying centre at the school offering the International Baccalaureate (IB) qualification.

Board chairman Calvin White issued a statement yesterday in which he said that the idea had been proposed by the fundraising Berkeley Foundation but had not met with the approval of governors.

"While consideration by the foundation had been given to the development of a private academic offering for high achievers, the Berkeley board of governors was not supportive of the commercialisation of education and believed that all students in the public education system, regardless of their economic circumstances, should be provided with an equal opportunity to excel academically," said Mr. White.

The Royal Gazette revealed the IB plan earlier this month after it was published on the Berkeley Foundation website. The foundation said at the time it was too early to discuss the idea.

This week, the Government's new education consultant Henry Johnson said IB was being considered for both public senior schools as an alternative to the Bermuda School Certificate (BSC), which could be scrapped.

Mr. White said yesterday he wished to clarify reports about the board's consideration of the implementation of the IB programme as a commercial enterprise.

He said the school's core values included preserving the legacy, history and heritage of the school by, among other things, enhancing the credibility of the public education system.

"The school's core values also direct 'the promotion of programme excellence to be achieved by supporting the implementation of the GCSE and other programmes like the International Baccalaureate that will challenge all students to realise their maximum potential'," he said.

He added: "The Berkeley board of governors wants to reassure the general public that any changes to its curriculum at the Berkeley Institute would occur in consultation with the Ministry of Education and would be available as a part of the public education system."

Shadow Education Minister Grant Gibbons said last night he supported scrapping the BSC and that a United Bermuda Party government would seek to raise standards by introducing a qualification which would allow students to compete in the marketplace.

Education Minister Randy Horton confirmed that the quality of the BSC was being assessed. "We are absolutely looking at the rigour in our system," he said, adding that Government was considering whether to keep the certificate or change to another system.