The Minister of Education has doubled down on his claim that the Education Authority will be an autonomous body, saying it will have a similar structure to the long-established Bermuda Monetary Authority.

Diallo Rabain was speaking during a media briefing today on the Education Authority Bill, which is due to be debated next week.

The Act states that “the minister shall, upon the recommendation of the board, appoint persons to the board” and that the minister can appoint “its first chief executive and first board chair of the authority”.

The minister may also make regulations and for any function usually carried out by the Commissioner of Education, presently Radell Tankard in an acting capacity — the board must consult with the commissioner. The position of Commissioner of Education has been advertised.

A letter signed by 20 education stakeholders questioned the independence of the proposed body while the One Bermuda Alliance asked whether the level of independence was “sufficiently independent to provide stable, professional leadership”.

Mr Rabain said: “The clearest working example in our law is BMA.

“It is operated under a ministerial statutory role combined with independent board governance. No credible observer would suggest that the BMA is run from a minister’s office.

“Candidates are vetted against the published criteria and the minister appoints from among those who qualify. The process applies to the initial board and that includes the appointment of the first chairman.

“Subsequent appointments after the initial board is seated come from the recommendation of the authority board itself. The minister makes the formal appointment, the vetting is independent. That is the balance the Bill creates.

“We have gone above and beyond to ensure that the minister doesn’t have a hand in the selection process of who those people are that are qualified to go into the pool of persons to make the final cut.”

Asked if the Commissioner of Education position will remain in place on the establishment of the authority, Mr Rabain said: “I can’t provide any more clarity on that.

“The board will have 18 months to come back and say this is what the system should look like, whether there is a commissioner or whether they create another name for the supervisor of schools.”

Mr Rabain said the authority was not expected to be “the magic bullet” when it comes to improving student grades, which have been largely falling below international averages.

“There are other things that need to happen in the education system to improve outcomes. Those things will continue under the Department of Education until the authority is up and running.

“The sole purpose of the authority now is to get it up and running, improve accountability and change the governance system.

“When they do take over completely, we will see how things will be done differently.

“The reform process is under way and interventions being put in place and will continue to be under the auspices of the department. We will see improvements and we will see different things put in place under the department. At some point the authority will take over that remit completely.”

Mr Rabain said that according to initial estimates, the operation of the authority would be in the region of $150,000 a year, but added that that did not include a salary for a chief executive. The cost of the board members will be assessed against other similar public body members, he said.

On accountability, Mr Rabain insisted the authority would not be “a body operating in the dark”.

“There will be annual reports through Parliament, audited accounts, quarterly reporting to the minister on student outcomes and finances, and a public meeting in every zone every year which is a statutory requirement.”

At present, each senior school has its own board, which will remain the same, the minister said.

However, there will be “cluster boards” for primary and middle schools in the western, central and eastern zones rather than individual boards.

“It’s a system planning decision that sits alongside the Bill but not within it,” Mr Rabain said.

“The direction draws on the extensive work done by the Education Authority Working Group. Those conversations examine what works and what doesn’t work in the Bermuda context.

“The detailed powers and operating protocols of these boards are developed during Phase 1 in consultation with unions, aided schools, principals, PTA and parent councils. They are given effect in Phase 2 legislation, which will return to Parliament for debate.”

The legislation creates an offence related to breaches of confidentiality, whereby a member of the authority can be fined up to $25,000 for disclosing information “except insofar as may be necessary for the due performance of a person’s duties under this Act”.

Mr Rabain said that the Bill does not repeal or amend any part of the Employment Act, under which whistleblowers are afforded protections.

“Those protections are untouched under this Bill,” he said.

Asked what types of information disclosure could lead to an offence and whether the Government had concerns about any particular information being disclosed, he responded: “There is nothing that prompted that point of the Bill; it was a standard clause that goes into these types of Bills.”