THE island’s public school system could be on the brink of meltdown where teachers operate in a climate of fear, according to a damning report by overseas experts.

And the findings also hinted at wider problems in the island, including allegations of cronyism within the Civil Service and “a fear of speaking up in the Bermudian community” which “may not be restricted to the education system”.

The report also charged that the Ministry of Education “seeks to implement Cabinet or Ministerial initiatives not through brokerage but either by diktat or stealth”, and that the education system has, if anything, deteriorated in the past decade.

A summary of the Hopkins Review of Public Education in Bermuda was released by Government last month, along with a list of recommendations that the experts made.

At the time, Premier Ewart Brown described the report as “the most meaningful and comprehensive” review of the education system ever conducted, while Education Minister Randy Horton said his Ministry would examine ways in which the recommendations could be enforced.

The Mid-Ocean News has now received a complete copy of the report, which describes the Ministry’s leadership as “dysfunctional”, adding that “there is no sense of corporate leadership, of there being a senior leadership team approach to running the affairs of the Ministry”.

The report, compiled by a team of six experts following an inspection of schools in March, did single out some teachers for poor performance, but added that “overbearing” civil servants, rather than classroom staff, were largely responsible for the system’s failure.

Acknowledging that the findings “present a fairly bleak picture” of the school system, the report said: “The culture at senior level is properly focused on discharging Cabinet and Ministerial decisions, but this is not balanced by a sense of providing a service to the wider range of clientele — notably schools — on behalf of Government.

“A major problem with this culture is that it suppresses initiative and constructive criticism alike. Some staff in the Ministry and some schools are afraid to speak up or express independent views.

“There are perceptions that one’s career is in jeopardy if one does not share the prevailing view. Members of the review team witnessed the overbearing approach of senior Ministry staff at a meeting with all the island’s principals, and the perceptions described above are aired by educators across the system.

“From the evidence of members of the public, however, fear of speaking up in the Bermudian community may not be restricted to the education system.

“One of Bermuda’s strengths, the cohesion of the Bermudian community, also presents a challenge when people working in the education community know and are often related to each other.

“Assertions of it being necessary to be black, Bermudian and from Berkeley to achieve a top job, or that senior posts in the Ministry are filled by patronage, nepotism or cronyism, indicate — whether justified or not — some disenchantment with the system.

“We have encountered layers of assertion and counter-assertion, but it is not clear who is professionally accountable for the quality of education in Bermuda.

“During the time most principals have been in post, there have been many changes of the Minister and changes in most senior posts in the Education Ministry. Professional responsibility has evaporated. The issues of responsibility and accountability must be faced if the system is to move forward.

“There are indications that the public education system in Bermuda, especially at post-Primary level, is on the brink of meltdown. The adverse findings of the 1996 independent Curriculum Management Audit largely apply today, and the quality of many parts of the system has declined since then.

“The findings of subsequent studies and consultancies have, in the main, not been revealed. Radical steps are needed if the Government is to establish the sort of purpose, direction and sense of urgency that are needed to reverse this decline.”

Following a review of the report, Mr. Horton announced plans to “radically reform” the Ministry with the appointment of an interim Executive Board to address “strategic management weaknesses”.

However, last night Shadow Education Minister Grant Gibbons said the focus of any reform needed to be more widespread than one single Ministry.

“I think there is a much greater climate of fear and intimidation which has increased in recent years — people are generally more scared of speaking out,” he said.

“Government has actively contributed to this problem — I think it all began when then-Premier Jennifer Smith used the phrase ‘at your peril’.

“More recently we have become familiar with cases of individuals being targeted, for example the doctor who lost her job for speaking out over the closure of the Medical Centre, and the construction manager who was drummed off the island. It seems people are being targeted more and more.

“We need a mechanism to allow people to address wrongdoing, whether it’s in the Civil Service or the Ministry of Education.

“We have talked about bringing in whistleblower legislation to protect those who are aware of any wrongdoing and that’s something that the Auditor General has also recommended.

“While fear can be a motivator it is certainly not the best way to get the best out of people.

“Fear and intimidation are clearly very destructive.

“We need to work in a climate of co-operation and Government should be encouraging inclusion rather than exclusion.

“It doesn’t matter if that’s in schools, of the Ministry of Education or the Civil Service as a whole.”

Dr. Gibbons also echoed concerns that civil servants were being promoted because of their political sympathies rather than abilities.

“I am very concerned that the Civil Service is becoming much more politicised,” he said.

“It is clearly the job of the Civil Service to serve whichever political party is in power and should be neutral.

“I certainly think that has changed in the last few years and that has made life much more difficult for our civil servants.”

Full report warns of an education meltdown in Bermuda