Work would start immediately to establish an independent authority that would take the reins of public education if the One Bermuda Alliance is elected to govern, the party said today.

Ben Smith, the shadow education minister, reiterated that the OBA intends to immediately pause the Government’s education reform plans to carry out an audit of what is working and what is not.

At a press conference this morning, he said that the OBA was willing to reverse steps taken by the Progressive Labour Party administration so far, which included the closure of a primary school and the creation of two parish primary schools — if that was found to be necessary.

Mr Smith highlighted: “We have schools that are closing, we have parents that are upset and teachers that are upset, but it is our community that loses, because if we don’t fix public education and start to compete the way we used to compete, this cycle will continue.

“The No 1 priority of the OBA will be to take politics out of education.

“Politicians have got in the way of what really should be in the hands of the experts — an independent education authority without the political interference.

“The political cycle is one to five years but a young person’s education starts at birth and can go on all the way into your forties because you are still being educated.

“The first thing that we would do is pause this reform.

“Then we have to do a full audit of what has happened, where we are, what is working, what is not working and then move forward from that point under an education authority.”

Mr Smith said that the OBA has not performed a cost analysis for the implementation of an education authority and, once elected to govern, would have to consider who will run and work for the authority.

He said that the Government has spent millions of dollars on overseas consultants Innovation Unit Australia/New Zealand.

Mr Smith added: “It would be very important for us to have a report with the analysis of what has happened [with Innovation Unit].

“We need to know what has happened up until this point so we can determine the success going forward.”

There have been multiple challenges with the education reform process including protests and about-turns around school closures, as well as staffing shortages that have resulted in schools being closed for the day at short notice, most recently Sandys Middle Secondary School today.

Mr Smith said that the OBA wanted to see a return to a “world-class” public education system that recognised the importance of early childhood education.

He said he understood that 50 per cent of students are now educated privately while other families leave the island in search of a better education for their children.

“Every time we close another school and every time this interruption happens, more of our young people are being pushed to a private education,” he said.

“Think about the impact that is having on our community. More of our parents are having to dig even deeper to pay for an education for their child.

“Then there are parents that can’t afford it and many of those are moving off island.

“All of these things tell me that we have to pause what we are doing, and make sure that every bit of it has been checked and analysed.

“The only result that I as a politician would want is that every child in Bermuda has access to a world-class education.”

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