The Free Democratic Movement has pledged to keep all of Bermuda’s schools open if it becomes the next government.

Members of Bermuda’s third political party, including its leader, Marc Bean, unveiled the education policy at a press conference yesterday.

Omar Dill, the regional organiser of the party, said that all public schools would remain open under an FDM administration, with a rethink over the national curriculum.

The party pledged a more decentralised leadership structure that would return decision-making powers to school leaders — “home-grown talent” with educational expertise.

Mr Dill said: “The FDM unequivocally assures all Bermudians that no schools will be closed.

“Our steadfast plan is to enhance our community by encouraging Bermudians currently residing overseas to return home and by making our island attractive to new residents.

“This bold vision to rejuvenate our economy includes significant improvements to existing educational facilities as well as the revitalisation of recently closed schools with the aim of ensuring a thriving and prosperous future for Bermuda.

“The notion of closing schools is a stark indictment of any government's vision.

“Such actions do not promote growth; rather, they reflect a lack of motivation to propel our country forward.”

The Government has undertaken a restructuring of the public school system, which includes phasing out middle schools, introducing signature schools at the senior level and creating parish primary schools.

There is to be one primary school per parish under the plans, aside from Pembroke and St George’s, each of which will have two.

Mr Bean said that the present Government’s approach was steeped in pessimism.

He added that there was “no justification for closing schools. Many would say it is a rationale that has been presented because of poor governance and leadership”.

Mr Dill said that the FDM’s education policy focused on nurturing Bermuda's people to ensure students grew into positive, contributing citizens.

He said that a national curriculum would be adopted that was “rigorous and comprehensive”, and Mr Bean said the party would meet education experts before any specific regime was determined.

Mr Dill noted: “Again, the FDM will utilise local community experts, resources and talent to enhance and/or complement the delivery of the national curriculum.

“These experts include athletes, performers, community activists and others.”

Mr Bean said: “It has been said that the Cambridge curriculum is not a complete curriculum, that is for the professionals who have been advising us to fill in, in detail.

“We have identified a few curriculums that can become the national curriculum. For one, you might have the Ontario curriculum or British Columbia curriculum, or you might have the CXC curriculum which is the high-level curriculum of the Caribbean. Time will tell.”

The Progressive Labour Party has plans to create an education authority but Diallo Rabain, the Minister of Education, has said that because it would receive funding from the Government, it would not be fully independent.

Mr Bean said the FDM’s policy also sought to decentralise authority through such a move but added: “We have an independent inspectorate within our policy”.

He said: “We feel it is necessary to downsize the Ministry of Education and shift most of the influence and responsibility to schools themselves. It will start with having school boards and working closely with school administrators.

“We don’t see the need for a large bureaucracy. You are going to need leadership to help represent the Government and its policy direction, and how that manifests in the form of titles or roles will be determined through further consultation. Those who are in the central core, we want to be Bermudians.”

Mr Dill said the FDM’s policy changes included giving parents more options to choose schools, raising teaching standards, enabling schools to make more of their own decisions, providing vouchers for schools and students, and encouraging schools to use data to remain focused on continuous improvement and competitiveness.

Mr Bean said of the voucher system, which remained subject to input from education professionals: “The Government will provide the voucher for the school to the board, which will allocate the resources adequately according to their vision and desire.

“Student vouchers will be more applicable to private schools as many parents sacrifice [financially] to get their children into private schools because they don’t have trust in the public school system.”

Bermuda would see “community schools” under the FDM that were well equipped with resources, provided academic support, built strong relationships with families and prepared students for a successful life.

Mr Dill said: “The success of community schools is built on four main pillars — comprehensive support for students, opportunities for advanced and varied learning, strong involvement from families and the community, and teamwork-oriented leadership.

“Together, these elements foster an environment that supports students’ overall growth and success.”

Mr Bean said there should be more transparency in how schools performed academically.

He added: “The world is based on competition, and when I went to school, competition was the essence of education. If you can’t measure yourself versus a student beside you or another school, how can you measure progress?”

He said the Government’s signature schools “might have some value” but if the power was shifted to schools, they could integrate trades and professions into their curriculums.

• To see the FDM’s education policy in full, see Related Media

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Education Policy FDM.pdf