Exams were cancelled and students at two of the Island’s schools were sent home yesterday due to teachers taking industrial action.

But Minister of Education, Randy Horton, said they would resume their full duties today and the matter would go to arbitration.

On Tuesday teachers announced they were going to “work to rule” due to a pay dispute, alleging that the Government had reneged on an agreement to increase their salary by 4.5 percent this year.

But the Minister said the 4.5 percent increase was never agreed on by the Ministry of Finance, who has final say in pay issues, and should not have been offered to the teachers by Ministry of Education officers.

The new, and “final offer”, is four percent he said.

The work to rule meant that teachers would not supervise students before and after school or during the lunch period. It also meant they did not invigilate exams, which effected Berkeley students who were unable to sit their finals.

Scores of Berkeley students walked out in frustration and one 16-year-old student said: “I was mad because I had to study so I could pass so I can go into the final year next year. I was having trouble with this subject and I studied three hours.

“Why couldn’t they wait until the exams were over?

Another student said: “They did this to us last year. They say only half pass - but fix the system. Then we will pass.”

Meanwhile, students at Clearwater Middle School and Whitney Institute were sent home due to large number of “illnesses among teaching staff”, the Minister said.

An irate parent told The Royal Gazette: “I cannot believe they have the audacity to do this after what came out in the Hopkins Report. The public needs to stand behind the Government and not let them get away with this.

“They are asking for more money but they need to be concentrating on the children and their education. It is wrong that they sent children home today without notifying parents, that is not ethical for teachers to do that.”

Speaking of the industrial action Mr. Horton said: “I must say that I am most disappointed with their decision to do this now, as this is a critical time for students, especially those that are due to graduate in the next couple of weeks.

“It must be kept in mind that the findings of the independent review into the Bermuda public education system were released just a few days ago and indicates that there is a lot to be done in improve public education in Bermuda. We have found ourselves in a time where we need all hands on deck and the best interests of our students should be at the forefront at all times.”

But Mr. Horton also stressed that the new figure offered to teachers had nothing to do with what came out in the Hopkins Report.

The Hopkins Report was the result of investigations by a team of education experts led by British professor David Hopkins.

It called for a “rapid raising of standards” and said the quality of teaching was poor on the Island. Mr. Horton said: “This has absolutely nothing to do with anything that came out in the report. The offer that was made some time back had not been ratified by the Ministry of Finance, which should be done first before an offer is made.”

However, Bermuda Union of Teachers general secretary Mike Charles said teachers felt the Government had not approached the negotiation table “in good faith” and were appalled they had reneged on a the agreement, saying teachers were now failing behind the pay scale they had been placed on.

Opposition Education Minster Grant Gibbons said: The welfare of the children must remain the primary concern and focus.

“Having said that, we understand that teachers must be very frustrated at having to work for more than a year without a contract, particularly in light of reports that the government reneged on an earlier verbal agreement.”

Public school teachers staging work to rule