Burgess should send a shiver down the spine of every parent who has a child of school age.

Mr. Burgess claimed that some of the Island's school teachers turn up for work each morning dreading the day ahead of them. He added that up to 40 percent of teaching time is wasted dealing with unruly students.

Perhaps most disturbing of all, Mr. Burgess said that: "...we have children in middle schools going into lessons high, either on alcohol or drugs.'' The reason for this supposed anarchy? According to Mr. Burgess, today's teachers lack the power and authority to deal with the small minority of pupils who are intent on disrupting class at the expense of the majority of students who yearn to learn.

"When I was going to school there was law and order -- there was discipline,'' he said.

"Now teachers can't send children home like they used to -- but there is no alternative.'' Mr. Burgess's call for everybody to be accountable is justified. Parents have a right to expect their children to be well looked after while in class. At the same time, good habits and discipline start in the home. If a child lacks the necessary nurturing out of school, teachers face a losing battle when that same child comes under their care.

Some may argue that, as a back bencher, Mr. Burgess lacks the authority to speak out on such a delicate subject. His comments no doubt would have ruffled the feathers of civil servants within the Education Ministry as well as those of Education Minister Milton Scott.

But as President of the Bermuda Industrial Union, Mr. Burgess is presumably in contact with those in the front line of education -- the teachers themselves.

His concerns carry even more weight by the fact that he is the father of children attending Government schools.

And the bare facts support his argument. In the academic year 1998/99, 924 of the 6,000 students attending public schools were suspended. The following year that figure was slashed by nearly a third to 675. In the first term of this school year just 88 students were suspended.

Education Minister Milton Scott argues that there is good reason for not suspending students and that "there are a number of other ways of addressing student's needs and difficulties''.

His arguments are worth listening to. It is right that no child should be written off in his or her teens because of unruly behaviour and it is also true that time spent in suspension is time wasted.

But is Government in a position to impose education policy on our teachers? Surely civil servants and MPs, who are not in the firing line on a daily basis, should not be allowed to dictate how our schools are run based on their own personal ideology.

And while the rights of the individual must always be respected, there comes a point when those rights can become too costly. If a disruptive student is persistently distracting his or her teacher -- and the other students in the classroom -- then the ultimate sanction of suspending that student must be made available to teachers. As Shadow Education Minister Tim Smith said: "Public education must have a discipline code and this code must include suspension and expulsion. If it is rarely or never invoked, then it makes a mockery of the code.'' Yes, the rights of the individual must be respected -- but at the same time everybody has the right to a decent education.

Furthermore, while Government seems intent on overseeing how discipline is instilled in schools, it has so far failed to arm teachers with any alternatives to suspension and Senator Scott himself seems unsure what the alternatives are. His comment that other options " might include adjusting a student's schedule or modifying their instruction, other disciplinary measures'', are vague and unconvincing.

Teaching should be left to the teachers, not the politicians. Surely our children's future -- and the Island's future -- is far too precious a commodity to begin experimenting on.