Government’s announcement that teachers’ licences have been extended through September has created more questions than answers for the Island’s opposition parties.And the One Bermuda Alliance is calling on the Ministry of Education to update the public on its efforts to resolve the issues surrounding the Bermuda Educators Council which imploded when all its members resigned in January.At the heart of opposition concerns is whether the legislation setting up the Bermuda Educators Council is viable.Bermuda’s teachers found themselves in legal limbo as a new school year approaches without a functioning licensing body for their profession.By law, teachers are required to be re-licensed by the BEC before the end of August.But with the en bloc resignation of its members, there is no functional BEC.And the Ministry of Education has said that educators’ licences will now be valid for a further month.“Are they extending it so that people can practice?” asked OBA candidate Toni Spring. “Or are they going to reestablish the Council in order to ensure we have a functioning body?“I don’t understand the point of extending it when there’s no functioning Council.”Ms Spring, a teacher herself, suggested that the Government will have to bring in new legislation to reconstitute the Council.But she is mostly concerned about new teachers returning to Bermuda after completing their studies.“They cannot get any assistance in meeting the requirements (for licensing) now that they are back from college,” she said.Ms Spring added that teachers are undervalued in Bermuda, yet always under fire to meet professional development requirements and to follow practices. But “this hurts our credibility as licensed professionals,” she continued.“This is a hindrance and it also looks like the Ministry of Education does not know what it is doing.“If you cannot have your teachers licensed, what does it say about the Ministry of Education?”Charlie Swan, of the United Bermuda Party, questioned under what legal authority the Ministry was extending the expiration date of educators’ licences.“Under what authority have teachers been granted a one month extension for re-licensing,” he asked. “From where within the Ministry of Education did this decision emanate?“Teachers should be justifiably concerned that they may be in contravention of the law if licences expire at the end of August, and the properly constituted body has not granted the extension.”He noted that the Act does not provide for anyone other than the Council “to render policy”.“Is the Council still in place? If it is, who are the current members? And when were these members appointed and by whom?” he asked.Mr Swan also wanted to know how many teachers had paid the required registration fees since Government decided not to continuing paying for the teachers, and how much had been collected.“It may be that this Act needs to be revisited, as it clear that, one, government has not properly managed the implementation of the Act, and, two, the Council has found itself unable to perform its duties, partly due to provisions contained in the Act.”He noted that the Act required that the Council meet at least once every three months, and that its quorum was set at seven members.Shadow Education Minister Grant Gibbons noted that, despite being passed by parliament in 2002, the Act only became fully operational in 2010, with the mass resignations taking place about a year later.And Government has not acted on its Throne Speech promise to bring amendments to the law.“While the BEC executive is composed of both elected and appointed members, the legislation governing the BEC is still the responsibility of the Government and if there are serious questions about the viability of the legislative structure then the Education Minister clearly has a responsibility to help sort out these problems,” Dr Gibbons said.“It’s not good enough to have the BEC remain in a dysfunctional state and to potentially have teachers and other educators put in a position where, through no fault of their own, they find themselves subject to sanctions or are unable to get their licences renewed.“We understand that a new group of educators is working hard to get the BEC up and running again and we support that effort, but in the meantime both the education community and parents deserve an update by the Minister on the current status of the BEC and the Ministry’s efforts to resolve the underlying issues.”