Premier Pamela Gordon yesterday accused the Bermuda Union of Teachers of politicising the issue of school opening delays.

She was referring to BUT executive and many of its members' refusal to supervise hundreds of middle and primary school students affected by the delays.

The Education Ministry last week announced that middle schools, which were supposed to open on the Island for the first time yesterday, were not ready mainly due to construction delays caused by the weather.

Therefore four middle schools -- Sandys, Spice Valley, Whitney, and Clearwater -- as well as West Pembroke, Northlands, and East End primary schools will not open until next Monday. And Dellwood Middle School, which required major work this year, is scheduled to open on September 22.

Education Minister Jerome Dill therefore asked teachers, through the BUT, to supervise students at various locations during the week.

But the BUT executive said teachers needed to focus on preparing for the new school year, including cleaning and preparing the classrooms and preparing lesson plans which they were not able to do because they were in workshops up to last week.

And they claimed that the Ministry would not have found itself with such a dilemma, if it had consulted with the union and listened earlier.

Gordon accuses BUT of politicising debate over schools Speaking out yesterday for the first time on the situation which caught parents off guard, Ms Gordon told The Royal Gazette : "I am asking that in an issue like this, of such significance and importance, why it cannot be depoliticised for the well-being of this country.'' While stressing that she did not expect children nor teachers to use facilities which were unsafe, she said: "The question I have to ask is if Bermuda has become so sophisticated that we are not prepared to attempt to be creative and innovative in holding our classes in a non-traditional setting for a short time.'' However, BUT president Michael Charles said it was strange that the Premier would become involved in the situation "at this late stage''.

"She must have heard our pleas in mid August,'' he said. 55th minute she is coming up with all kinds of ideas.

"Why didn't she instruct her Minister way back then to sit down and talk with the folks to see what they could come up with.

"We are employees. We can't make any decisions on our own. We saw the problem. We brought it to their (education officials) attention. And nothing was done at the time. Now all of a sudden it is (called) a political thing.'' UNIONS UNS