Alternative schools are in for greater Government supervision, but the Opposition is asking why steps weren't taken years earlier.Shadow Education Minister Grant Gibbons said there were 25 tutorial sites three years ago, none of which held an operating licence.“It's apparently taken the Government more than three years to have a closer look at this key sector,” the One Bermuda Alliance MP said.By Dr Gibbons' reckoning, Bermuda's public schools have shed close to 1,000 students since 2003.“It's likely that a proportion of these would have entered home schools and tutorial sites,” he said, adding that alternative education had “increased in popularity in the last few years”.Dr Gibbons said he had obtained the 2009 figure following concerns over adequate oversight by the Ministry of Education.At the time, he was told there was nothing in law requiring on-site inspections of home schools by Government, aside from an initial site check by the Fire Service to ensure compliance with safety codes.As part of the Throne Speech's to-do list for the legislative year ahead, Education Minister Dame Jennifer Smith pledged to view standards and accountability within home schools and tutorial sites.The Minister called existing legislation “outdated and insufficient” to keep track of potential issues with schools outside the public school system.Dr Gibbons also questioned the Throne Speech's wording that Government had “resurrected the Country's Education Council”, which oversees standards for teachers.Members were elected to the new Bermuda Educators' Council, nearly 11 months after the former BEC executive resigned as a group.Said Dr Gibbons: “At the time of the mass resignation, there were serious questions from the then BEC executive members about the 'legislative structure and financial feasibility' of the BEC, based partly on changes to the BEC 2002 Act that were brought into effect by the Government in August 2010.“There were also allegations of political interference and micromanagement by the Education Ministry at the time, that apparently contributed to the members' resignations and the ultimate collapse of the BEC for almost a year.”He added: “For Government to now take credit for 'resurrecting' the BEC is both surprising and ironic considering the history and circumstances of the meltdown.”According to the speech, the Ministry has also implemented plans for regular public meetings and consultations with every Parent Teacher Association.However, Dr Gibbons pointed out that the move only followed an August ruling in the Supreme Court that overturned two transfers of principals following objections from PTAs that the switch had been made over their heads.“It's unfortunate that the importance of real consultation and effective communication was not recognised earlier by this Government and that it ultimately required a Supreme Court decision to make it happen,” he said.The Throne Speech said Bermuda's public school system had just finished its second year of major reforms, of which the movement of principals was one component.Again, the Shadow Minister questioned the delay.“This clearly confirms the glacial progress of education reform since the Hopkins Report in May 2007,” he said. “It certainly raises serious questions about Government's handling of education reform in the three years between May 2007 and 2010.”