Log In

Reset Password
BERMUDA | RSS PODCAST

Teachers in limbo over re-licencing

The collapse of the Bermuda Educators Council in January has left teachers wondering how to be re-licenced, with their licences expiring and a new school year approaching.Speaking anonymously, one teacher said it appears as if nothing has been done since members of the BEC, the body responsible for the licencing of teachers, resigned en-masse.“I have submitted all my Professional Development hours, well beyond what's required, but of course after January there was no office and no acknowledgment,” the teacher said.“If I don't receive a licence by the beginning of September, I am in fact breaking the law if I give instruction in a classroom.“In effect, it seems to me, Government incompetence is making me a criminal.”She said that educator licences are set to expire on August 31, leaving just over a month for the matter to be resolved.“I believe a large number of teachers will be in the same boat,” the teacher said.“It seems as though the private schools at least are also being left in the dark, because they don’t seem to know what is going on either.“From my point of view, it looks like the Government has not put in place the means to deal with this.”She said she had attempted to contact the Department of Education, but had not received any answers.Efforts by this newspaper to contact a Ministry of Education spokeswoman yesterday about the issue were unsuccessful.In February, BEC Exemptions Committee head Helle Patterson said the Council was to hire a new executive director and open in a new location in March.The Royal Gazette revealed in April that members of the council had resigned en bloc amid claims of union and political interference, however the three members appointed by Education Minister Dame Jennifer Smith agreed to stay in place.