Returning Rabain greeted by dip in parish schools enrolment
Parents are choosing to leave parish primary schools — one of the hallmarks of education reforms introduced under the leadership of Diallo Rabain, during his first stint as education minister.
Enrolment figures were released this summer by the Ministry of Education in response to parliamentary questions from Ben Smith, the shadow education minister, in the House of Assembly. They show numbers dipping at the middle school level in the island’s four parish schools.
Mr Rabain was reappointed education minister last Friday as part of a Cabinet reshuffle that saw Crystal Caesar resign her position the day before. Mr Rabain had assumed the position for seven years prior to the last General Election and oversaw the introduction of education reform including parish primaries.
The parish primary enrolment figures showed that, for the upcoming school year, of the 79 students enrolled in the island’s four parish primary schools at P6 level at the end of the academic year on June 1, only 25 decided to stay on at the same schools for Year 7.
One parish primary school, Harrington Sound Primary School, has no students enrolled for September at Year 7 or Year 8 level at all.
Year 7 and Year 8 were introduced as part of education reform’s goal of abolishing middle schools.
The figures showed that Harrington Sound has had no Year 8 pupils enrolled since opening as a parish primary school in September 2025.
Elliot Primary School had 25 P6s at the end of last year, and that figure is expected to yield ten Year 7s in September.
Purvis Primary School had 21 students in P6 last year and is expecting 11 to stay on for Year 7.
Francis Patton is expecting 11 fewer P6 students in September, with just four going up to Year 7.
This is despite students and their parents staging a protest at the school, imploring the Government to keep the extra year groups open.
The Government has not responded to questions regarding the declining parish school enrolment figures.
A source within the Department of Education interpreted them as proof that parish primary school implementation was not working.
The Government changed aspects of the original plan. For example, funding was pulled from Francis Patton that was supposed to fund the construction of two new school buildings to house future Year 7 and Year 8 students.
When Crystal Caesar took over as Minister of Education following the last General Election, she put a freeze on reform plans including the closure of any schools for the time being.
The BUT said this month that it was unsurprising for parents not to choose parish primary schools, given the uncertainty surrounding the plan.
The education department source said: “The parish primary school model has been a failed implementation. The enrolment data speaks for itself.
“Enrolment figures showed the majority of parents are opting out of parish schools at middle-school level.
“Based on this reality, Minister Caesar was right to consider the proposal from parish primary and middle schoolteachers, and implement a lower secondary and upper secondary structure that aligns with the Cambridge model that the Bermuda public school system is following.”
Dante Cooper, the general secretary of the BUT, highlighted to the The Royal Gazette this month that Ms Caesar had stated parents were choosing middle schools over parish primary schools for Years 7 and 8.
He added: “The complete island-wide Year 9 pathway across all three senior schools was not fully operational.
“Any responsible parent would choose certainty over ambiguity.”
He said the “reformed” two-tier system was never implemented and as such, teachers preparing lesson plans for next year did not know which initiatives remained active, which were paused and which had ended.
The Government has insisted that an Education Authority will decentralise power from the Ministry of Education.
A spokeswoman for the ministry responded to a call from Becky Ausenda, the founder of Bermuda Education Network, to provide the public more of a say in how the authority should work.
Ms Ausenda had said feedback should be sought on its purpose, its powers and how it will be held accountable. She also said that power should not be centralised.
The ministry spokeswoman responded: “This is not about centralising power. It is about moving decision-making closer to schools, establishing school boards, strengthening school-level governance and giving parents, educators, communities and relevant expertise a greater role in how schools are supported and held accountable.
“This work has not appeared overnight. It follows thousands of hours of consultation, policy development, research and engagement across the education system. Further engagement will take place as the legislation advances, but Bermuda’s children are not served by another open-ended review or reset.
“Minister Rabain has returned to Education because this work is at a critical implementation stage and requires institutional knowledge, legislative focus and urgency.
“He worked with the Education Authority Working Group, understands the work that has brought the policy to this point and is fully aware of its purpose and ethos.”
Meanwhile, the enrolment figures showed that only 34 students are expected to attend East End Primary School in September. The school’s P3 year level has just one student enrolled while its P1 year has two.
St George’s Preparatory School, which is in the same parish as East End, was one of the schools slated for closure under education reform but with the plans on hold, it never closed. There are 90 students expected to attend St George’s Prep in September, compared with 34 at East End.
The Gazette asked the Government about the enrolment figures, but did not receive responses by press time.
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