By Karen Smith Law and order must be returned to the classroom if teachers are to be successful in educating children, a Government MP has claimed.

PLP backbencher and union leader Derrick Burgess said too many students were allowed to get away with being disruptive or troublesome because there were not enough punishments and consequences in place.

And he claimed some teachers had claimed they dreaded going to school because of discipline problems.

He appealed to both parents, the public and the Government to do all they could to support teachers in the difficult job before them.

And he said it was time for everyone to be accountable.

Mr. Burgess, who is also President of the Bermuda Industrial Union, spoke out following a number of stories in The Royal Gazette about education.

He said he wanted to throw his support behind the hundreds of teachers in Bermuda and said too often they came under fire.

"The system needs to be overhauled because it's designed for yesteryear and not today,'' he said.

"When I was going to school there was law and order -- there was discipline.

"Now, teachers can't send children home like they used to -- but there is no alternative.

"Law and order has been removed from the classroom and it has not been replaced with anything.

"Teachers in public schools claim 40 percent of their time is lost on disruptive behaviour.

"We have teachers dreading to go to school because of what is going on. In private schools you don't get that because there is law and order.'' Mr. Burgess said he believed Government had made some headway with education, but said there was still a way to go.

But he said unless there was a grip on discipline from parents, the community and Government, teachers will always have problems.

He added: "We are faced with a problem, so we have to put something in place to deal with it.

"Teachers are telling me we have children in middle schools going into lessons high, either on alcohol or drugs, but they feel they are unable to do anything.

Schools lack law and order "I think everyone should be pulling together to support and help our teachers. I think in this day and age, more than ever before, teachers have to be dedicated, otherwise they simply would not do it.'' And Mr. Burgess also said he believed schools should concentrate more on religion as a way of instilling good behaviour into students.

He said: "Good schools have good foundations, and religion is the foundation of life.

"I appreciate that not all children are from the same religion, but I feel schools should be doing more to teach religion. They don't seem to teach it any more. These days we cannot rely on parents to teach it.

"It should be in the foundations of all schools.'' A head teacher, who did not wish to be named, last night said schools could still suspend pupils, although she was under the impression Government wanted to get away from sending children home, favouring alternative punishments instead, such as isolation.

And she said although there were occasional discipline problems, it was wrong to paint such a dramatic picture.

She said: "Classrooms in public schools are certainly not disrupted all the time. I would hate for anyone to think that. If you walked into classrooms, most of the time you would find children quietly working.

"There are a lot of good students in public education. We have even seen a steady trickle of children coming back to public education from private schools.

"I think schools are suspending less than they used to, because they do not need to send children home so much. It is a known fact that suspension does not correct behaviour, but it does offer a cooling off period.

"Isolation works quite well. Children really do not like to be isolated from their classmates, and this way they do not miss any lessons or work.

"I am sure public schools have a bit more disruption than private schools, simply because if a private school is tired of a child disrupting lessons, then they are out. But then where does that child go? - straight back to public school.''