Government has rejected a suggestion by the Opposition Progressive Labour Party that the middle school system should be dismantled as “radical” and disruptive.Improving education depends on improving the quality of teaching and providing support to at risk families.In a statement last night, Education Minister Nalton Brangman said he had been “quite stunned” by the suggestion — made in the Opposition’s Reply to the Throne Speech on Friday.“It was quite incredible to hear the Opposition, a party only out of the Government for ten weeks, suggest that all of a sudden they no longer support an Education system which they have presided over, complimented and defended for the last 14 years.“What is even more unbelievable is that they would suggest that we dismantle the entire system and revert to a structure we left over 20 years ago.“We are all concerned about the violence which is occurring in our communities however, we know from the Police that the violence is being committed by a minority of individuals.”PLP Leader Marc Bean described the middle school system as “an inherent part of the institutional culture that is damaging our social fabric” in his Throne Speech Reply.“The mega school concept is a proven global failure and pretending that Bermuda has not been subjected to the same social and academic challenges as other jurisdictions is destructive.“Studies have shown that between the ages of ten and 14, young people begin to develop group consciousness.“This is the same age our young people enter a middle-school environment, the location of which depends on the community where the young person resides. In our current format, gang culture has flourished.”Mr Bean added that some jurisdictions in which the middle school system was abolished had seen a decline in behavioural problems and a “rise in academic achievement.”But Senator Brangman said that improving student achievement depends on improving the quality of teaching.“It was the Opposition who rightly identified that in order to improve our public education system, the focus must be on teaching and learning,” the One Bermuda Alliance Minister said.“It was they who said that if we improve the quality of teaching, we would see a rise in student achievement. It was the Opposition, as the Government, who rightly introduced the Cambridge Curriculum so that we could benchmark our results against an international standard.“It was the Opposition who defended the need for consistency so that we could embed the curriculum and allow teachers to gain confidence and competence with that curriculum.“It was also the Opposition who fought against the constant chopping and changing of the system through the introduction of new programmes year after year.”He added that Government would be providing in school support to at risk families with programmes such as Operation Ceasefire.“However, to dismantle what we have will not solve the problem. What it will do is provide another disruption to teaching and learning.“It will mean that our focus will turn to structures and away from instruction. We will pull the rug out from under our students and our teachers.“No one denies the challenges we face. However, how we address those challenges is critical to the success of our Island. We are an Island of only 21 square miles. If we take the path as set out by the Opposition, we further segregate our people and only exacerbate the problem.“Every country that has achieved success in their public education system has realised that it takes time, consistency and commitment to the task. While the system is certainly not perfect and there is much to do, I am convinced that we are on the right path. .“Let us focus on addressing the root causes of the problem. If we focus on the quality of teaching, put the appropriate supports across the community to support our schools and at-risk families, we will be on the way to solving the problem.”Sen Brangman agreed that there was no Island-wide consensus on the middle schools system but that Government’s priority is to have a “stable education system”.“Structural change is complex. It can be severely disruptive to the learning process if not carefully and thoughtfully planned and executed.“We are also of the view that full consultation and a review to ensuring accountability is key. The conversation must be about a quality education system that delivers the best for all of our students.”He added that he had not received a response from the Opposition Leader and Shadow Education Minister Walton Brown to an invitation to discuss the issues “as a collective”.“However I believe that they are as committed as I am in finding solutions to remedy our educational challenges, rather than making irresponsible announcements at the expense of our children and simply for political gain.”Bermuda’s public school system was restructured in the 1990s to do away with a selective system which streamed students at the end of primary school to one of two “academic” schools or five “non academic” secondary schools based on the results of an examination.It now has 12 preschools, 18 primary schools, five middle schools, two senior secondary schools and one special school.A 2007 review of the system found that the middle schools were of “limited effectiveness”.