Crystal Caesar resigns as Minister of Education, senator
Crystal Caesar has resigned as Minister of Education and government senator, while David Burt, the Premier, announced a swearing-in of new ministers tomorrow.
In an explosive public statement released this evening on social media, Ms Caesar cited a lack of support from within the Cabinet to make meaningful decisions — “particularly” from Mr Burt.
Separately, Mr Burt confirmed that “after a full day of significant meetings with ministers and Members of Parliament”, new ministers and junior ministers would be sworn in tomorrow at Government House — hinting at a significant shuffle.
Mr Burt confirmed that Ms Caesar had tendered her resignation, but called her comments “surprising and unfortunate”.
Ms Caesar’s resignation marked the end of a brief tenure as minister. She was appointed in February 2025, taking over the portfolio from Diallo Rabain, who had held the job since 2017, when Mr Burt shuffled his Cabinet.
Ms Caesar inherited the high-pressure role, which Mr Rabain had held for a comparatively lengthy term, in the midst of a radical overhaul of the island’s public education system.
She chose to put those reforms on hold in February, sparking a backlash from parents, and ran into further difficulties this May when the Bermuda Union of Teachers denounced her intervention in a student disciplinary matter at Port Royal Primary School that resulted in a PE teacher being placed on administrative leave.
Last month in the Upper House, she defended pausing reforms, calling it “a huge undertaking” that could not be implemented in “a rushed fashion”.
The Premier said: “Ms Caesar is entitled to her views. But I consider her comments on her former Cabinet colleagues surprising and unfortunate.
“The Premier’s responsibility is to ensure that the Government is best positioned to deliver on its Throne Speech commitments, advance the legislative agenda and keep the work of Government moving as we near the end of this Legislative session.
“I respect Crystal’s decision to resign. Collective responsibility is a fundamental principle of our system of government and Ministers express their frank and honest views on every issue before Cabinet, but decisions made by the body must be supported and executed by all.
“I have thanked Crystal for her work. We remain focused on the Government’s legislative agenda and delivering on our promises to the people of Bermuda.”
Ms Caesar’s statement this evening blamed “predetermined political objectives” for driving the future of public education above “evidence, professional advice and technical expertise”.
Ms Caesar accused her peers of not being as open and as transparent about governance as she believed the public deserved.
She further went on to note “repeated interference” in the work of “qualified professionals and technical experts” hired by the Government.
Ms Caesar said: “My resignation should not be interpreted as a loss of faith in the public education system.
“Rather, it reflects my conviction that I can no longer, in good conscience, remain collectively responsible for decisions and approaches with which I fundamentally disagree.”
Crystal Caesar was appointed to the Senate for the Progressive Labour Party in 2017, and joined the government ranks in the House of Assembly when she beat the incumbent Opposition MP Ben Smith in Southampton West Central during the 2020 General Election.
At the time, she was a financial controller at a major law firm, and highlighted addressing “disparities between the two Bermudas” as cause for her involvement in politics.
In 2024 she was appointed Minister of the Cabinet Office, with David Burt, the Premier, saying her commitment to service “extends beyond her professional career as she has served on numerous boards and commissions”.
However, Ms Caesar was out as MP after the February 2025 General Election, when Linda Smith of the One Bermuda Alliance took the seat, and she was returned to the Upper House, becoming education minister.
Ben Smith, the Opposition leader and Shadow Minister of Education and Sports, said: “While I wish her well, Ms Caesar has done the right thing by resigning as education minister.
“Stakeholders across the Bermuda public education system deserve transparency and stability so they can all work together for the best interest of our youth.
“They’ve been unsettled too long and I hope her successor can restabilise and fix a system that is unequivocally broken.”
Ms Caesar’s statement, published on her political Facebook page, said: “This has not been an easy decision.”
Ms Caesar said that she had exhausted “every avenue available to me” to advance public education.
She added: “Over the past several months, however, I have become increasingly concerned that I have been unable to discharge those responsibilities in the manner that I believe the office demands.”
She cited “insufficient willingness to reconsider” reform decisions when alternatives arose.
She added: “I have also become deeply frustrated by what I perceive to be an inability to make decisions that would genuinely strengthen our education system because of a lack of support within Cabinet, particularly from the Premier, for approaches that differed from an established political direction.
“In my opinion, good government requires ministers to be empowered to govern their portfolios responsibly, supported by Cabinet colleagues, and permitted to act when credible evidence demonstrates that a different approach is warranted.
“That has not reflected my experience.”
Ms Caesar said the island’s governance had fallen short of “the openness and transparency that the people of Bermuda deserve”, lacking “timely, accurate information about significant government decisions and the rationale supporting them”.
Among other issues was the formation of the Education Authority and its draft legislation, which she said had not undergone proper consultation.
Ms Caesar said she had not entered public life for “political expediency”.
She said she was proud of the work accomplished during her tenure, adding that stepping down from her role would not entail “stepping away from public service”.
She said she would back transparent government and an education system that placed children’s interests first.
Ms Crystal closed by stating she “remained hopeful that our country will continue striving toward a future where integrity, accountability and the public interest guide every decision made on behalf of its citizens”.
• UPDATE: this article has been updated with reference to the statement from Ms Caesar, and with comments from Ben Smith
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