A joint effort between the Bermuda Union of Teachers and the Education Ministry will bring about continuous certification for teachers at all levels.

The Progressive Labour Party has promised this in its recently-delivered second Throne Speech.

And Education Minister Milton Scott noted that the idea was the BUT's since the early 1990s.

The proposal came up in 1990/91 when a review into teachers employment terms and working conditions was conducted, Sen. Scott noted.

Since that time, he said, a committee of educators has been formed and are working on the terms of references.

This, Sen. Scott added, could include a proposal by the Bermuda College to establish a Teacher Education Institute.

The College's vice president of Academic and Student Affairs, Donald Peters, was not available for comment on Friday when the Throne Speech was delivered.

But last December he said a Teacher Education Institute, an independent body for the teaching profession, or a Teacher Certification Agency, will be created.

Dr. Peters said the idea -- which will require an Act of Parliament to implement -- was in response to market demands for higher academic achievement, the restructuring of the public school system, and national pressure to improve teacher effectiveness and accountability.

All of Bermuda's teachers, he noted, are trained overseas by institutions and individuals which may not necessarily produce teachers with the cultural and teaching skills and sensitivities needed for effective practice in Bermuda's schools.

Because teachers play a critical role in the development of Bermuda's most important resource -- its children, senior College officials reportedly believe that the College must assume the responsibility to participate in the preparation of teachers.

When set up, the Institute will provide training, certification, resources and other research. It is anticipated that the training programmes will include substantial in-class instruction and significant distance education components via the Internet, satellite and other means.

Membership in the Teacher Certification Agency will be open to all teachers who are qualified to teach in Bermuda, which would be a requirement for maintaining a teacher's certification.

It will also be open to all public and private sector teachers in Bermuda, faculty members of the Bermuda College and qualified teachers currently working in non-teaching capacities at the Education Department and in the private sector.

It is envisaged that the agency will be governed by a board of directors to be made up of members of the public and others with a special interest in the education of Bermuda's youth.

The BUT and Association of School Principals have also prepared some suggestions on licensing, Sen. Scott added.

"We want to ensure that teachers have the responsibility for controlling their licensing,'' he said. "Ultimately there will have to be legislation drawn up to allow this. But teachers have been calling for licensing -- just as lawyers and nurses are, for some time. They want to be sure that they are regulated. Then, any cases of teachers not performing at the level they should could be dealt with by a specific body.'' Sen. Scott said: "I want to hear that teachers are taking responsibility for themselves. It is something that they have been calling for for a long time.'' BUT president Anthony Wolffe agreed.

But he pointed out that licensing of teachers should not be confused with certification.

All teachers have to be certified in order to teach, he pointed out.

He declined to comment further on certification, explaining that he would need to know what Government had in mind concerning "implementation of continuous certification for teachers at all levels''.

However, regarding licensing he said: "We handed the Ministry of Education a proposal on licensing a while back. Since the new Government has come into place we presented it again.

"But our document is for licensing, not certification. Just as with lawyers and nurses, it (licensing) should be done by an autonomous body.'' Standards: Education Minister Sen. Milton Scott EDUCATION ED