Government's middle schools will not open on Monday as planned.

Chief Education Officer Joseph Christopher announced late yesterday that in addition to the delayed opening of Dellwood Middle School and Spice Valley Middle School, Whitney and Clearwater middle schools will remain closed.

And the Board of Governors of The Middle School at Sandys have confirmed that that school will not open next week.

Dr. Christopher said all of the middle schools will open on September 15, except Dellwood which is now scheduled to open on September 22.

He did not disclose why Whitney and Clearwater were not ready for students.

The news came as no surprise to the Bermuda Union of Teachers, BUT president Michael Charles told The Royal Gazette .

"When we realised all the things that they were planning to do in these schools, we said a long time ago that these things might be delayed,'' Mr.

Charles recalled. "And about early August we started talking about how it did not look like some of the schools would be ready on time.'' The BUT, in a meeting earlier this week with Education Minister Jerome Dill and Dr. Christopher, urged the Ministry to delay the opening of middle schools until they were safe and secure for students and teachers.

But Mr. Dill -- while stressing the Ministry's "commitment to providing safe and secure schools with an environment conducive to learning'' -- said he expected all schools with the exception of East End Primary, West Pembroke Primary, Northlands Primary, Spice Valley and Dellwood middle schools, to open on Monday as scheduled.

He blamed bad weather for construction delays at the above mentioned schools.

But the BUT executive claimed the delays were mainly due to the Ministry's lack of planning.

Teachers were involved in workshops as late as yesterday and therefore had no time to prepare classes at schools which required little or no renovation, Mr.

Charles and BUT general secretary Milton Scott pointed out.

And they disclosed that furniture and textbooks for some schools had not yet arrived on the Island.

"Whitney does not even have desks as of yet,'' Mr. Charles said. "Whitney's furniture is in containers being shipped to Bermuda. Their textbooks aren't here yet.

"They (the Ministry) plan to transfer desks from Dellwood to Whitney. But who's going to set the desks up and prepare the classrooms? Teachers have been in workshops.'' Schools closed The union officials also predicted Dellwood will not be ready on September 22.

Meanwhile, Dr. Christopher said the Education Ministry had made provisions for "a limited number of students'' to attend a sports academy at the National Stadium from September 8 through 12.

According to an advertisement placed by the Ministry in today's and Monday's editions of The Royal Gazette , the academy will be conducted by the Bermuda Football Association, Bermuda Cricket Board of Control, and Bermuda Lawn Association for boys and girls between the ages of nine and 14.

Dr. Christopher said summer day camp coordinator Janet Francis also had space at Grace Methodist Church hall for 40 students at a price of $65 per week. She can be contacted at either 292-6525 or 292-3421.

And the Ministry of Youth Development and Sport will provide supervision for 72 children at the Angle Street Centre, just opposite Dellwood.

"We will provide activities over the next two weeks for a total of 72 students, 30 from Northlands Primary and 42 from Dellwood,'' Youth and Sports director Brenton Roberts said.

Because of the Northlands PTA's close relationship with his department, Mr.

Roberts said parents of students at the school were being contacted directly.

But Dellwood Middle School students will have to sign up at a special registration from 10 a.m. to noon today at the centre.

The programmes and activities, which will include dance, games, guest speakers, and educational outings, will be funded by the Education Ministry, he said.

Children will be supervised at the centre from 8.30 a.m. to 3 p.m. when the Ministry's afterschool programme begins.

"We are also assisting the East End Primary who will be using the St.

George's Community Centre and the surrounding area in addition to some rooms at their school,'' Mr. Roberts added.

Students at East End will be supervised by principal Cathy Bassett and some teachers on a rotating basis. The Ministry has asked the BUT to urge other teachers to do the same.

The BUT said it put the suggestion to teachers, but Mr. Charles said he did not expect any teachers, other than those at East End, to act as supervisors.

Mr. Dill, earlier this week, said Government had organised "inter departmental supervision'' plans for some of Dellwood's 300 students.

He promised to disclose details of those plans later in the week.

But other than the Youth and Sports Ministry's assistance, there was no word about other Government department's involvement.

But Mr. Scott accused the Minister of "putting unreasonable demands on teachers''.

"Teachers need to be able to prepare for students so that when those students walk into the classroom from day one, they clearly understand the expectations that will be made of them; they clearly understand that teachers are about business and not being stressed out from one week of uncertainty,'' he said.

"We understand that parents need someone to supervise their children. But we are not supervisors, we are teachers...''