Reforming the education system begins with focusing on the quality of teachers, according to the new Minister of Education, Dr Grant Gibbons.

But Mike Charles, secretary general for the Bermuda Union of Teachers, will not be holding his breath.

In his first interview since taking over for the former minister, Nalton Brangman, Dr Gibbons said he and Leah Scott, Junior Minister of Education, are considering a number of ways to go about raising the standard of teaching on the Island.

One of those options, he said, is looking at is possible incentives for high-performing schools and teachers.

“To reform education, you need to focus on the quality of teaching,” said Dr Gibbons. “I think that’s obviously been a goal, but from a policy perspective we need to work through how that gets done.”

As laid out in the Education Act 1996 — which states: “The Commissioner of Education shall develop pay scales and an incentive plan for principals and teachers” — Dr Gibbons said that despite fiscal constraints in today’s economy, better pay for teachers is something he and Ms Scott “will clearly have a look at”.

“I think the both of us feel very strongly ... that probably the most important thing in education is the quality of teaching.

“What you find in other countries which have really good educational systems is that they set the bar very high on recruitment.

They will often have incentive pay to make sure that teaching as a profession really is treated as other professions, like lawyers or doctors, might be treated.

“I think the degree to which we can reward performance by teachers, in terms of the learning that actually goes on and the performance of their kids, is pretty important here,” he said.

Responding to the minister’s comments, Mr Charles said there would be no need for teacher incentive pay if teachers were paid on par with other professions.

“We’ve always felt that teachers should be much better paid than they are for the amount of work that they do, and that’s what I think is necessary,” said Mr Charles.

“You need to pay teachers a substantial wage and then go out and recruit the best teachers you can find.

“If you pay teachers well enough, you don’t have to give incentives. If you pay teachers well enough you’ll get the brightest and best like you do in any other profession.

“If you’re talking about getting quality teachers, that’s what you need to do.”

Dr Gibbons also stated he and Ms Scott would be consulting teachers, principals, parents and students in order to “get a clear handle on where the public education system is right now.”

“We’re going to be out there. One of the nice things about working as a team on this is that we can split up some of the responsibility ... that means listening a little more and consulting quite a bit before we march in and make all kinds of demands.”

Mr Charles questioned why further consultation was even needed.

“It seems that we’re repeating what has happened before,” said Mr Charles. “I think the former minister has done that already.

“I guess they’re just spinning another wheel. The former minister has already spent a year consulting, and now these new ones are going to spend another I-don’t-know-how-long consulting again.”

Mr Charles added he does not have faith that Dr Gibbons and Ms Scott will succeed where previous ministers have failed “because they have not shown a willingness to do what it takes.”

“The mere fact that you have a change in ministers after a year is just a continuation of what was going on before.

“There is no continuity, the ministry is like a revolving door. You just keep moving people around.”