A parent and PTA president has called for urgency in saving Bermuda’s public school system before it is too late.

Rajai Denbrook, the PTA president for St George’s Preparatory School, has described in an opinion piece in today’s edition of The Royal Gazette an “untenable” situation brought about by the Government in the implementation of its education reform plan.

Among his concerns is a claim by the Government that the first two parish primary schools — Francis Patton and Purvis Primary — were successfully introduced.

Mr Denbrook, who has two children in the public education system, said the claim is “explicitly deceptive” given the lack of school readiness at the start of term and the fact that no working curriculum document was released to the public before the school year.

Mr Denbrook writes: “To date, no information has been released publicly on the models that have been identified for our first two parish primary schools, how these have been synthesised into cohesive school models, how this has been reflected in infrastructure with designs for new buildings or whether the requisite teacher training has taken place so that these models can be used with fidelity to deliver the learning intentions of the Cambridge International Curriculum.

“Simply adding a P7 to each school — one that is neither adequately staffed nor resourced — does not make a parish primary school a parish primary school.”

He said the scoring process and consultation process have been “thoroughly and repeatedly” criticised by members of the island’s educational community.

Education reform involves the phasing-out of middle schools, closure of primary schools and the introduction of parish primary schools, and the introduction of signature schools and schools for those with special or alternative needs.

The first two parish primary school buildings were not ready to accept the full complement of students by the September 2023 start of term, and children were housed elsewhere both short term and long term. Mr Denbrook said this raised health and safety issues that parents should be “very disturbed” about.

Another major concern outlined by Mr Denbrook is what he claims to be a misaligned curriculum at primary level.

He says: “This is because when the curriculum was purchased — a curriculum that was never meant to be used for a system of schools — the government of the day did not purchase the ‘Foundation Year’ curriculum that should be used for P1. Instead of fixing the issue, the Government has allowed it to persist.

“The Ministry of Education must release a plan to address this in the short term and long term, which ultimately means transitioning away from the Cambridge International Curriculum and to an effective 21st-century curriculum that can be used for a system of schools. This should be done as part of reform.”

In his opinion piece, Mr Denbrook criticises the scoring process implemented by the Government to determine which schools should close as part of the reform.

He questioned a request for proposal that was issued by the Government in January 2018 for condition surveys of schools and said no information was ever released publicly about who won the contract or what the deliverables were.

He writes: “Scoring was a round-table exercise by a team of five people, including the Commissioner of Education [Kalmar Richards]. In other words, scoring was not completed by visiting school sites and collecting data. It was done around a table using the ‘collective expertise and knowledge’ of public school infrastructure of the small group of technical officers involved, including Ms Richards. But it must be remembered that the commissioner’s purview is administration, not infrastructure.”

According to Diallo Rabain, the Minister of Education, the team also included Valerie Robinson-James, the former Permanent Secretary of Education; the Comptroller of Education; the facilities manager at the Department of Education; the senior estates surveyor, Department of Parks, Lands and Buildings; the buildings manager, the Ministry of Public Works; and a quantity surveyor from the Office of Project Management and Procurement”

The continuing renewal of the contract for foreign consultants Innovation Unit Australia/New Zealand is also called into question.

Its role is to help facilitate and manage the school redesign and design process for the Bermuda public school system along with the Ministry of Education, the Department of Education, the Governance Team and stakeholder groups.

It was announced recently that the contract has been extended a second time, bringing the total amount of public funds provided to Innovation Unit to almost $5.86 million.

Mr Denbrook says: “Considering the exhaustive information shared, we must question the internal audit processes for government consultant contract renewals when deliverables attached to Innovation Unit’s RFP have clearly not been met — to the detriment of students, teachers and the country.”

Mr Denbrook lists some solutions, including an independent consultant being hired through an RFP process. He says there are wider-ranging issues with the scoring process than the need to include a history and legacy component, which the Government introduced to satisfy the process that had been contested by education stakeholders.

He calls for a change in leadership, saying Diallo Rabain, the Minister of Education, had been put “in an impossible position” and that “those who have put him in this position, and have expected his compliance and complicity, are equally if not more culpable”.

Mr Denbrook also calls for Innovation Unit’s involvement to be phased out “as soon as possible” and for the Education Reform Unit to lead education reform.

Part of education reform entails the creation of an Education Authority to take charge of performance and accountability in the education system.

Mr Denbrook suggests: “Let’s use the ERU as a testing ground for an Education Authority model. In other words, properly incorporate the ERU through legislation, which it is not at present, and in such a way where the Minister of Education is not able to have direct control or influence.”

A spokeswoman for the Ministry of Education said: "We recognise Mr Denbrook's concerns regarding education reform and value his input, as we do from all stakeholders and community members. We have engaged in discussions with Mr Denbrook previously and are always open to further constructive dialogue.

“In the spirit of responsibility and thoroughness, and to respond thoughtfully to his letter, we first need to review its contents. We invite Mr Denbrook to meet with us again, as we continue our collaborative efforts towards improving Bermuda's education system. "