The teachers' union last night said it may consider withdrawing its support from the new school Code of Conduct after claiming that the document was pushed through before the consultation process was complete.

Anthony Wolffe, president of the Bermuda Union of Teachers (BUT), said he was expecting further meetings to be held between the stakeholders in September when he discovered the Code of Conduct was going to press.

He said in May, the stakeholders committee, set up to put the code together, met and decided that more work and consultation still needed to be done, particularly in the area of misbehaviour at schools and consequences.

In June, he said the committee met with union representatives from each school and the Association of School Principals to gauge opinions on where the document needed to be strengthened and altered.

Many of them had issues and questions, he said. And he said he also expected to meet with the National Parent Teacher Association.

However, he said he never got the chance and has no idea whether or not any of the improvements and alterations were ever made to the finished document, because the stakeholders committee never met again.

"The union is not pleased because just a few weeks ago, in September, we asked questions about the status of the code because we wanted to go back to resuming meetings," said Mr. Wolffe. "At that stage, we thought the Code of Conduct was nowhere near finished.

"I have no idea how it was pushed through, and the union has never even officially received a copy. I was handed a copy unofficially under the table, so to speak, in October. I was told then that they were being distributed. I was shocked."

Mr. Wolffe added: "I had no idea it had gone to the press for printing. The joint process for completing this was never completed. My understanding is that the boards of CedarBridge and Berkeley had serious questions, but we never got to meet with them because it was pushed through."

Mr. Wolffe said, at that stage, he did not raise the issue with the Ministry because the union was in mediation with the Department over strike action on teachers' pay.

But he said the executive of the union would be meeting in December and will decide then whether or not to withdraw their support of the code.

However, the Education Ministry disputed last night that the document was pushed through with haste.

Acting Permanent Secretary Dr. Joseph Christopher would only say: "The union was involved fully in the preparation of the Code of Conduct."

And he released a written statement outlining the history of the stakeholders committee and code, which stated: "The initial committee was enlarged after the outline of the code was developed.

"Included on the enlarged committee were additional principals, teachers, parents and officers. In addition, persons such as representatives of the Public Transport Board and the Bermuda Police Service, who had specific knowledge related to particular sections of the code, joined the group.

"Middle school students and senior school students worked on the code as well. Their contribution was invaluable.

"Prior to submitting the document for printing, it was shared further with principals on two occasions and with the BUT executive and union representatives from each of the schools."

The Code of Conduct was the result of a march on Parliament in June of last year by teachers and parents upset at growing discipline problems and lack of guidance from the Ministry. They complained they needed a code put in place to assist them when punishing children.

A number of BUT members were on the stakeholders committee, however, Mr. Wolffe said they were also not happy with the outcome.

He added: "Many teachers are saying 'please don't ever ask me to serve on any committee with the Ministry again'."

And a headteacher, who did not wish to be named last night, said: "I think the BUT has legitimate concerns and I think they should have listened to them.

"If one of your largest stakeholders has issues with it, then obviously there are issues. I believe the Code of Conduct was on Government's to do list before the next election and they simply wanted to see it ticked off as soon as possible because it has been pushed through quickly."

Chairwoman of the stakeholders committee Beverley Daniels, who is also principal of Harrington Sound Primary School and represented headteachers on the committee, would only say on the BUT's comments: "If that's their perception, that's their perception."