A disillusioned parent has slammed Government for failing to respond to concerns about the public education system.

And he suggested that it was time for a change in Government.

Hav Trott -- who earlier this year called for the privatisation of the public school system after he and other parents complained about a lack of discipline, competency, and accountability -- told The Royal Gazette their concerns had not been addressed despite taking them to the top.

In early May, Mr. Trott presented Premier Pamela Gordon with a package of information regarding his son, including eight questions to Education Minister Jerome Dill.

He and his wife, Beverley, complained that they were forced to send their son overseas in March after realising a lack of discipline at St. George's Secondary.

The couple said they had received no inquiries from school officials about their son's whereabouts. But several weeks later the school sent a report card depicting their son as a student in good standing who had not been absent for the term.

The Trotts, who could not figure out how the school came up with the grades when their son had not taken his English final exam and required tutoring in that subject and several others, asked education officials to explain.

But Mr. Trott said his concerns and questions had not yet been addressed.

And he accused the Premier and her Government of "covering things up''.

"I'm not surprised by the lack of response from Government,'' Mr. Trott said.

"No one has answered anything. They are not going to respond. They're good at covering things up and dragging things under the carpet.

"They took this issue out of the public's eye, brought it into the closet and did absolutely nothing.'' In a letter to the Premier, dated May 19, 1997, Mr. Trott expressed concern that students at St. George's Secondary and other public schools were taking control of the classroom and making a "mockery out of the idea that being in the classroom requires a certain standard of behaviour''.

"It has become a free-for-all with little, in any, chance to learn,'' he wrote. "To me (and many others) it is these two points that make it abundantly clear that your party, as the government of the day, has neglected to provide the Bermudian public with a suitable public secondary education system.

"The bottom line is that you have let my son down and you have let down the sons and daughters of countless people over the last ten to 15 years. Bermuda is proud (and rightly so) to lay claim to being one of the richest countries in the world, but why do we have such a poor public secondary education system?'' Mr. Trott, who enclosed copies of his son's first report card from his new school in the US, also noted that his son has done "poorly in a test environment'' because he rarely had homework and never had to study for tests at St. George's Secondary.

"The fact of the matter is that without homework and without challenging tests there is very little to make an effort; in a nutshell, that is what has happened in Bermuda.'' Parent angry at lack of `response' from Govt.

"The public secondary school has been so diluted over the past ten to 15 years or so that it has become, literally, very difficult to obtain a meaningful education from it despite Jerome Dill's feeble efforts at claiming otherwise.'' Ms Gordon, in a response letter dated May 29, 1997, disagreed with Mr. Trott's assertion that Government "has neglected to provide the Bermudian public with a suitable public secondary education system''.

"There are too many success stories in the public school system for me to let that observation pass without comment or challenge,'' she wrote, "indeed, there are students from the public system who qualify for the Bermuda Government Scholarship and for private sector scholarships ... Against that background, there are always students who will not achieve such a degree of academic success, but their needs are being catered for and they are not being deliberately left behind.'' While admitting that the system was not perfect, Ms Gordon also rejected Mr.

Trott's claim that Government had "let down the sons and daughters of countless people over the last ten to 15 years''.

Pointing out that she had two children in the public school system, she said: "I am well aware of its strengths and weaknesses. The restructuring of the system will enhance the former and improve the latter.'' Expecting Government officials to point to restructuring and the new senior secondary school as part of the solution, Mr. Trott said: "I hope the senior school will be the solution. But the proof is in the pudding. Unless they change the people who are running this system, the new system will not make a difference.'' "They need to get some people who will be able to take action, not just answer to politicians,'' he added. "Education is not something that politicians should be involved in. At the moment the system is not giving value for money.

"Despite the audit report, which said everything is in a shambles, no one has done anything to address the problems. (Education Permanent Secretary) Marion Robinson still sits in the chair she has occupied for 15 years. There's no accountability.

"It is evident by the fact that Bermuda College lowered its standards, that the education system is failing. And our Government have done nothing to address this.'' Mr. Trott was earlier this year considering launching a petition to privatise the public school system.

But he now says such action is pointless.

"I don't expect action from our Government,'' Mr. Trott admitted. "And I hate to sound like a defeatist, but I'm tired of banging my head against the wall.

"Obviously there's nothing we can do but go to the polls and vote PLP,'' he added. "The United Bermuda Party government has demonstrated that it is not a party that makes decisions nor carries through on its promises, but is simply a party of accomplished speakers and talkers.

"In my opinion, the UBP are a party of the past, very much like the Tory party in the UK.

"As we move rapidly toward a general election here in Bermuda, it is very clear to me that we need to have a change of style here in Bermuda.

"The old politics of the past are no longer appropriate for today's world and Bermuda needs true leadership.

"Whether the PLP (Progressive Labour Party) can deliver that type of leadership is a question that I now believe needs answering as the UBP has clearly shown that, where it once could deliver such leadership, it no longer can and now needs to move aside to allow a new type of leadership in.'' Both Ms Gordon and Mr. Dill refused to become embroiled in a public debate with Mr. Trott.

Ms Gordon, who said she had not heard from Mr. Trott since her last letter, stressed that she has tried to be as "accommodating to a concerned parent'' as she could be. And she said she passed on Mr. Trott's concerns and questions to Mr. Dill as promised.

She also noted that Mr. Dill told her he had made provision for Mr. Trott to get in contact with him.

"Mr. Trott, from what I have gathered, has refused because he feels that an extension (invitation) should have been made,'' Ms Gordon said.

Mr. Dill -- who has defended both St. George's Secondary and the school system, stating that they were not in "a state of crisis'' -- said he asked the Permanent Secretary last month to contact Mr. Trott and arrange for a meeting between the two men. He added that he will follow up the matter with Dr. Robinson.