Department of Education staff staged a sit-in amid concerns about the way reforms are being rolled out by the Government.

One of those who took part in the action at the department’s Church Street offices on December 12 told The Royal Gazette that there were at least 25 members of staff there.

Sources indicate that almost all of the non-teaching staff in the department were present, including education officers, attendance officers, mentors, directors and assistant directors.

A source said that Kalmar Richards, the Commissioner of Education, was notified that the staff members would be conducting a meeting during work hours to discuss collective concerns. The Bermuda Public Services Union, which represents the workers, was present at the meeting, the source said.

The ministry said it is awaiting formal correspondence from the staff outlining their concerns and hopes to address the issues as quickly as possible.

Concerns include staff allegedly working unpaid hours as part of a remit to complete hours for the department and the Education Reform Unit, staff being given directions by the two different entities that often conflict, and the $6 million spent on consulting by Innovation Unit Australia/New Zealand.

The ministry has said that no department employee can be asked to carry out reform tasks without the approval of Kalmar Richards, the Commissioner of Education and that it will seek to address the concerns.

The source said: “One of the biggest concerns is that the ministry stated there are 14 full-time staff at ERU, but everybody at the department is required to give 2.5 days to the ERU — we are doing our full-time jobs and are expected to do half of ERU’s work.

“Our job is to make sure the children we have in front of us now have everything they need. How can we give good service if we are working two jobs? You are saying out of a five-day week I am supposed to do my five days plus another half week for the ERU? That has been going on since it was established.”

Diallo Rabain, the Minister of Education, said in March that “protocols are in place to clarify where responsibility and decision-making authority lies between the ERU and the DoE”.

The source highlighted that there is still no Education Authority and questioned whether the ERU has the authority to give orders to department staff.

“We are being asked to do things by the ERU, which falls under the minister and his committee. What authority do they have to direct us to do these things? We answer to the heads of the departments — we answer to Kalmar Richards, the Commissioner of Education. When we question things, our questions don’t get answered.

“Also, we have close to $2 million going to the Innovation Unit every year. Can you tell me what have they delivered?

“Part of the reason for coming here was to train Bermudians in this process — why do we still need them to go through the change process that we did several times?

“Would that money be spent better on making sure the schools are finished properly? When they had the parish primary school consultation, they showed classrooms with maker spaces, outdoor gardens … do the now plans look anything like that?

“Maybe if we had that $6 million we could have bought that.

“There was a sit-in — we all went and had a meeting and called in our union, BPSU, to address these concerns.

“We are compiling a list of our concerns to present and decide how we are going to move forward.”

Another education stakeholder said: “I am aware there was a sit-in. I was told the entire department except the teaching staff participated. I was told that the reason for the sit-in was ‘because of all the nonsense that is going on with education reform’.”

The source spoke of structural issues within the ERU, adding: “The Department of Education is supposed to be heading up education reform. The ERU was created for purposes of the minister to have direct control. However, ERU is not incorporated by legislation, so the integrity of the entity is in question.”

A spokeswoman for the Ministry of Education said: “No department employee can be contacted or asked to do any reform tasks without the approval of the commissioner.

“This was one of the first things established because, by legislative mandate, the commissioner is solely responsible for the operational oversight and employee decision of the department.

“Naturally, there is a point at which the work of the ERU team and the work of the Department of Education converge, particularly as it relates to historical data stored within the department. The department processes expertise, onboarding staff and building works required for parish primary schools as well adding new signature schools.

“It is critical that there is a symbiotic relationship between the department and the ERU. When the department and ERU work does overlap, the commissioner and the head of the ERU meet to work out and decide a way forward, and bring that solution to the Governance Committee for resolution.

“Indeed the Minister of Education has been, and will continue to be, very engaged in the delivery of education reform and will continue to provide policy direction and strong leadership in support of achieving the Government’s commitment to the people of Bermuda.”

The spokeswoman said the ministry was made aware of “staff uneasiness” last week after the issues were brought to Ms Richards’s attention.

She added: “The ministry awaits a promised document that sets out the specific concerns. It is, however, our intent to address the issues as quickly as possible so that we might redirect our collective energies towards the important matter of education reform for the benefit of our children and, by extension, Bermuda.”