Public school parents and teachers said they were losing trust in the Government after its latest announcement on education reform and “broken promises” that have plagued the process.

Crystal Caesar, the Education Minister, announced yesterday that the current system would continue unchanged in the 2026-27 school year, only weeks after it was announced that the ministry planned to scrap parish primary schools and continue to operate separate schools for years 7 to 9.

One parish primary school parent, who opposed the reform version of two weeks ago, told the Royal Gazette they did not know whether to trust the Government after its latest announcement and were now unsure whether to keep their child in a parish primary school or transfer to a middle school.

And a public school teacher, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said: “The Ministry of Education is now backtracking on its own backtrack.

“In March 2025, parents were explicitly promised that the delay in moving M2 and Y8 students to senior schools was a one-time 'revision' and that students remained 'on track' to transition in September 2026.

“Now, the minister has admitted that 'as with this year', students will once again be blocked from transitioning to Y9 at senior signature schools.

“This isn't a 'phased approach' — it is a broken promise to a second cohort of students who are being left in a middle-school model the Government itself has spent millions of dollars trying to abolish.

“How can the public have any 'clarity and confidence' in a reform process that can't keep a single-year promise?”

The comments came after Ms Caesar said that education reform — a plan that aimed to abolish middle schools, close eight P1 to P6 primary schools, establish Y1 [primary changed to year] to Y8 parish primary schools as well as senior signature schools and a school for students with exceptionalities — would be put on hold.

The announcement less than a month after another alternative was proposed including primaries again running from Y1 to Y6 only, “satellite locations” at Dellwood, Sandys Secondary and Whitney Institute middle schools teaching Years 7 to 9, at “lower secondary level” [formerly M1 to M3]. Students would then transition to “upper secondary school” at the end of Year 9.

However, this week, Ms Caesar said primary level schools could run from Y1 to Y6 or with an option to go to middle school or continue with Y1 to Y8, that students would not transition to senior signature schools for Year 9 in September, and that current M3/Year 9 students’ selected senior signature school placements would be honoured.

Current M2 would remain at their present middle school sites, she said.

Teachers said that middle schools were made out to be the reason education reform was needed but that the root cause was at primary-school level as well as in areas of policy making.

Furthermore, education stakeholders are furious that an overseas consultant, Innovation Unit, later named Third Story, was paid $8.4 million to reform public education only for it to end up where it is. They said that money could have been divided up among the schools remaining open to improve them.

A second public schoolteacher also said middle schools were not the main problem. The source said: “Middle school was the scapegoat. The whole ‘reform’ was built on opinion and not one piece of data.

“True reform has to do with policy and making things more effective and streamlined.

“If you think about the millions of dollars spent with no results, that could have been divided up and given to each school to address infrastructure and other needs.

“Investment is needed, there hasn't been much meaningful investment. For the past few years, the bulk of the funds has gone into the Education Reform Unit.”

The parish primary school parent, who opposed the reform iteration of two weeks ago, said: “They kind of gave us what we asked for but we are also unsure of what exactly that looks like. They said the current Y6 and Y7 can remain for Y7 and Y8.

“I have a Y6 student. Right now there are various scenarios running through our heads where, if we leave our children where they are, are they going to be told after the next year that they are going to have to move to a middle school for two years or if they do stay for the next two years until Y8, are they still going to have to move to a middle school for the Y9?

“We are now deciding, should we just move them to middle school to avoid all of this? I am waiting for more clarity. The issue has now become even more confusing.

“In addition to that, I think a lot of parents are over the back and forth. I think that several parents have already made the decision to remove their child out of the public system all together.

“Unfortunately, not all parents can do that and also at this point in time, a lot of the private schools have already closed their admissions for September so it is not even an option.”

A source within the Department of Education said the consultants were contracted to lay out a plan for the transition and the associated costs and questioned the outcome of that.

The source added: “How can we have four parish primary schools going from Year 1 to Y8 and other primary schools going from Y1 to Y6?

“Then, when will the middle schools be phased out and the other parish primary schools opened?

“Will the Y9 or M3 students stay in middle schools or go to high school? Right now everything is a mess.”

The Ministry of Education told parents at a series of previous PTA meetings that many families were opting to take their children out of parish schools and put them into middle schools.

Francis Patton School, in the absence of two buildings the ministry had said would be built, and later said would not, told parents in a meeting that the school did not have the space to accommodate so many year groups going forward.

The department source added: “Parish schools don’t have the same exposure as middle schools, which have dance, design and technology, computer labs, science labs, family studies, etc. They have none of this in the parish primary schools

“I think people will stick to sending their children to middle school until things are sorted. Why would you send your child to a parish primary school for eight years, to middle school for one year and to high school for four years?

“Nothing is in alignment with how you matriculate through the Bermuda public school system at the moment.”

Ms Caesar said this week: “Our responsibility is to ensure every child can learn with confidence today while we build a stronger education system for tomorrow.

“Our focus is simple; every student in our classrooms today must feel supported, safe and able to succeed while we continue improving the education system for the future.”

The ministry has been approached for comment.