With more than 50 percent of young black men dropping out of public schools, this newspaper asked a simple question — why?

The figure was released yesterday in a study on the Island's young black males, called 'On the Wall or on the Margins? A study of employment, earnings and educational attainment gaps between young black males and their same age peers.' It is thought to be the first time the information has been made public.

The report said: "Once on site in Bermuda, we learned that more than 50 percent of black males leave the public high schools prior to completion."

Last night education activist Myron Piper called the statistic "staggering". "The fact that a large percentage of young black males dropout of school in itself is not surprising or new. The actual statistic of more than 50 percent is however alarming."

He asked how much more than 50 percent was the actual figure and added: "Due to lack of trust and transparency in the Government we're not sure how much worse it actually is, but 50 percent is staggering."

Mr. Piper continued: "These staggering statistics brings even more concern to the Terra Nova's. It has been over three years since the Hopkins Report with little or no tangible results showing any improvement in the education system.

"It is time for affirmative action. It is time for all sectors of the community, stakeholders and activists to cease operating in silos and come together to engage the Government in arresting the tumultuous issues facing education.

"We cannot afford this Government to ignore or embellish vital issues surrounding education. We must demand accountability, transparency and commitment at all levels of engagement.

"The time has come to prune the old branches of this troubled and dying institution in order to allow it to survive and bear new fruit. We must be proactive. The numbers mentioned herein are the core of the social ills we all face and have to contend with."

Shadow Education Minister Grant Gibbons said: "The stat that 50 percent of young black males enrolled in the public education system leave before obtaining their secondary school certificate is appalling and highlights once again the unacceptable performance of our public education system in meeting the needs of this important group.

"We have to ask, how much more data and how many more reports does the PLP Government need in order to get serious about public education reform? They've had ten years and as far as the community can see, the situation is just getting worse with zero accountability."

General secretary of the Bermuda Union of Teachers (BUT) Mike Charles said it all went back to parents who allow the boys to drop out.

"The thing is, we don't know where they [the young black men] are. The ministry can't tell us where they are. It's not surprising because we are aware of it. The problem is that it could be that we don't offer enough choices for students. Unfortunately our schools don't offer anything in technical training."

Mr. Charles said the students may be getting bored because of all the academics.

"Our system caters only to academics and I think it's one of our greatest flaws and drawbacks. Everybody's not going to be academically inclined. If they're not good academically then they just get frustrated and drop out. Part of it is a discipline issue. These young men just don't want to be bothered. They will drop out and go get a GED."

Mr. Charles continued: "I guess the other thing is that they don't value education very much. Those are some of the things that we have to look at. I am almost certain that we'll have less drop outs if we have technical and vocational students in our schools."

The 222-page report is available today on our website: click here.