Technology education should be treated as “a need, not a want” in Bermuda’s public schools, independent senator Michelle Simmons said yesterday.

Ms Simmons, a 38-year veteran of teaching, told Senate in her maiden speech: “It is heartening that the Government intends to focus on improving educational outcomes for our young people.

“The strategic planning process that is well under way for the Bermuda public school system, which has seen broad community consultation and engagement, will certainly provide a road map for professional educators as they work to improve the attainment of our young people.

“At the same time our public schools need to be appropriately resourced for 21st century learning and teaching with access to technology being a need not a want.

“We must also guarantee that there is regular and ongoing training for our teachers so that they are well prepared to teach the 21st century learner.

“The marketplace is always changing as new technologies come into being and employers are continually seeking ways to beat the competition.”

Senators on all sides talked about the need to improve the education system as the Upper House debated the Throne Speech.

Jason Hayward, the junior Minister of Education, said that the school system needed to “evolve” and the Bermuda Government would work to improve the educational product for pupils as well as the teaching product.

He highlighted the Progressive Labour Party’s pledge to install wi-fi in all public schools and the incorporation of the Steam — Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Mathematics — programme into the curriculum.

Opposition leader in the Senate Nandi Outerbridge said an independent education authority needed to be considered.

She added: “One of the things the One Bermuda Alliance talked about in its platform was an education authority.

I don’t think that should be ruled out — I think that it should be examined.

“We have seen the progress of the Bermuda Tourism Authority and that is a direct result of putting the experts in place.

“We need to take the politics out of education and put the experts in place.

“We need accountability in our education system.

“We need to sit down and figure out the pros and cons of eliminating middle schools; we need to find out the core issues going on.”

Sen Outerbridge said that maths standards were a problem when she sat on the board of CedarBridge Academy and questioned whether ending middle schools would impact pupils’ difficulties with the subject.

New OBA senator Nick Kempe said that he and most in the session, with the exception of Ms Simmons, were “no experts” on education.

But he added that he believed the 2010 introduction of the Cambridge Curriculum in the timeframe that it was introduced was part of the problem with performance levels. He said: “Changing the system all at once meant that teachers weren’t prepared.

“Students were exposed to a completely different standard and vocabulary relating to the concepts that they were learning.

“I believe that was one of the many things that set back our educational standards. I hope the middle school changes are done with that in mind — the potential to cause mass disruption.”