Shadow Education Minister Grant Gibbons says the Ministry of Education is on the right track with its reforms to the public school system, but he is concerned about the way the changes are being implemented.

The Opposition MP said a longer school day could prove of benefit to students as could establishing a technical/vocational curriculum.

And he maintained it was important that change begin at the preschool level.

"I think there are a lot of issues we can talk about with the school day and the curriculum," he said in an interview with The Royal Gazette yesterday.

"[US President Barack] Obama, going back a year or so, he said it's important for educators to rethink the school day because we don't need our children home at 3.30 anymore to plough the fields.

"Knowledge is Power (KIP) is a programme in the states that typically starts their school day at 7.30 a.m. and finishes at 5 p.m.

"What you find is not only they have more time but it also allows a lot more [time for] dealing with math and a lot more remedial time.

"The problem, of course, is that most Bermudians need to be working parents. Extending the school day would help them out.

"They wouldn't have to worry about their kids and what they're up to. I think generally the concept of being able to extend it is something we need to have a look at."

The Shadow Minister said he was in support of the Cambridge International Curriculum, planned to be phased into the Government system beginning this September.

"I am very supportive of the Cambridge Curriculum," he said, adding that having students in all schools taught the same curriculum was an added benefit.

"What we're still missing is the issue of technical or vocational curriculum. I think we all recognise it. Right now the focus has been on starting at the senior level but it is too late.

"If you start students early enough, then by the time they hit senior school, you really have given them sufficient time and exposure to a curriculum to take where they are going.

"What we really need is a technical curriculum available to all students starting in the middle schools.

"I think we have learnt that's where you need to start it to make it effective.

"We all seem to single out males. If you start at middle school, they would more comfortable. If you start young, they are capable of great things.

"There are a lot of people in the community who have started on the technical side."

Dr. Gibbons also spoke about the importance of quality preschool education.

"I say that because a lot of other countries have basically come to the conclusion that you get a tremendous amount of education investment in the early years than you do later.

"If you fail in the early years, you spent a lot of time later trying to fix it.

"A lot of children when they first start primary school aren't ready. [It's] the reason I think preschool is so important.

"If kids are not prepared for primary school and they start and they are behind, it's very difficult for them to catch up.

"Children who don't have a good middle-class family structure often have a more difficult time in school. I would almost prefer Government put more money into preschool then childcare because you get more of a return."

The former UBP leader also spoke about the importance of quality teaching.

"Unless you have a serious financial commitment to the quality of teaching, you really haven't addressed that issue of teaching. The training budget has decreased. It's fine to get a new curriculum but when everybody is saying it's the quality of teaching you have to put more of an emphasis on that area."

Dr. Gibbons said Bermuda has one of the lowest teacher-to-student ratios, but added: "It doesn't mean that the quality of our public education is good."

He continued: "What it does mean is that the resources in any system aren't limited if you have to pay for a large number of teachers.

"My sense is that we need to look very carefully at these kinds of trade-offs. The lowest student-teacher ratio hasn't solved our problems."

Dr. Gibbons added the number of Bermudian students in the public school system is less than 50 percent. And he said Bermuda should look at the idea of having an independent schools board similar to those elsewhere in the world.

Such a board would take a hard look at the schools and report back fairly because they wouldn't be associated with the Government, he stated.

"These individuals that are responsible for initially providing the teaching and doing the education process shouldn't always be the ones measuring whether that process has been successful."