Shadow Education Minister Grant Gibbons yesterday claimed Government had "undermined" the reform of the nation's schools by excluding teachers from the process.

Dr. Gibbons accused the Interim Executive Board of operating under "cronyism, nepotism and secrecy" in what he said were the "very same conditions" the Hopkins Report alleged the Ministry of Education operated under.

The Opposition MP was responding to a report in The Royal Gazette on Friday in which the Bermuda Union of Teachers said it was to present a report to the Caribbean Union of Teachers claiming it was being left out of the reform process.

The report — presented to the CUT Executive Meeting at the Fairmont Southampton, said the review of public education on the Island by UK professor David Hopkins and his team earlier this year had "made a number of damning and sweeping statements about teaching standards and the general state of public education.

In particular, some teachers were labelled as inadequate".

The BUT report went on to say that although an Interim Executive Board had been set up to oversee the reforms recommended in the Hopkins Report, "to date, the BUT has not been formally invited to participate in the reform process even after having submitted three letters to the Minister of Education (Randy Horton) from our general secretary Michael Charles insisting that we be a part of the way forward".

New BUT President Keisha Douglas told The Royal Gazette on Friday that Government's failure to invite the BUT to formally sit on the board's six committees was viewed as a snub and remained a "burning issue".

She said union representatives are to meet Interim Executive Board Chairman Philip Butterfield on December 11 in a bid to resolve the issue.

Both Mr. Butterfield and Mr. Horton have denied teachers are being excluded from the reform process.

But Dr. Gibbons last night claimed that a lack of inclusion "has created mistrust in the education community".

He said: "It seems almost incomprehensible that a government that's truly committed to dramatically improving public education would leave teachers out of the reform process. But that's exactly what the Bermuda Union of Teachers said on Friday in The Royal Gazette.

"We have to ask how the PLP Government believes it will be successful when they have left out some 900 teachers, the largest group of education professionals in the public system. Without their cooperation and help, the reform process is simply political theatre.

"But it's not just the teachers — Government apparently hasn't had the courtesy to include the Association of School Principals or the public since it released the Hopkins Report in May, when Minister Horton promised regular press conferences and updates.

"The Interim Board structure, chaired by the Premier's brother Philip Butterfield has further undermined the reform process. It has been secretive. It has created mistrust in the education community. It has not consulted with the people who matter.

"The Hopkins Report highlighted cronyism, nepotism and secrecy in the Ministry's operations. The current Interim Board seems to be operating under the very same conditions that its consultant deplored less than a year ago.

"When Minister Horton first announced the Hopkins Report, he promised that key recommendations would be implemented before the new school term started in September.

"It's clear that these were nothing more than empty promises, but that seems par for the course. Any sense of urgency, momentum or credibility that the Minister had to begin reforms has now been squandered."

Dr. Gibbons claimed a UBP Government would "fully include" the BUT, Association of School Principals, BPSU and other stakeholders in the reform process.

He said: "We believe that inclusion and communication are essential to the success of education reform.

"We believe these professionals are just as committed as we are to educational reform, to high standards and to empowering our children to seize every opportunity that comes their way."