A DISPROPORTIONATE number of private school students are receiving scholarships because Government has yet to deal with the challenges of the public system, Shadow Education Minister Neville Darrell declared yesterday.

And the longer the Progressive Labour Party (PLP) takes to meet those challenges, the greater the chance that Bermuda will evolve into a society defined strictly by class, he believes.

The United Bermuda Party MP spoke out, having noted that the majority of educational scholarships in 2004 were awarded to graduates of the island's private senior schools ? Warwick Academy, the Bermuda High School for Girls, Bermuda Institute and Saltus Grammar School ? despite there being more students in the public system.

While thrilled to see Bermuda's brightest achieve, the MP said it was important that public school students received the quality of education that would enable them to compete.

"I've had a public message about the public school system for quite some time now," Mr. Darrell said. "I do want to say I'm pleased and thrilled to see our children graduating from school and receiving scholarships and moving ahead with their careers.

"When I've opened the papers in the last couple of months and seen the corporate scholarship holders, the Government scholarship holders, I'm thrilled. I see the next generation of citizens coming along and I'm pleased that they will take their place within the larger society.

"However, there are certain frank realities we have to deal with. The first is that 60 percent of all students eligible to be in school are in the public school system and 40 percent of all eligible school students are in the private system.

"This, in my humble opinion, is a recipe for disaster and social polarisation. I think what you're seeing now is the output, the measure of education here in Bermuda ? you have a disproportionate number of students from the private school system receiving the scholarships and moving forward.

"To some extent it is regrettable, but not surprising because the public school system has a number of challenges which in my humble opinion, have not been addressed as of yet."

According to Mr. Darrell, such challenges can only be addressed by establishing "clearly defined academic standards", ones which measure actual achievement and performance in public schools. In partnership with that, the entire public system must be held to a "higher level of accountability and overall performance" than it is at present.

"I think one of the benefits parents see in the private school system is that families are held accountable for ensuring that their children conduct themselves well," he added. "Students are held accountable for their overall work performance and schools are held accountable for the overall well-being of the student. It's something you don't necessarily see in the public school system and as a consequence we're getting this disproportionate representation."

He said that recent statistics from the Government's two senior schools ? the Berkeley Institute and Cedarbridge Academy ? revealing that only 27 percent of students graduated in 2003 and 30 percent in 2004, supported the opinion that a private education is superior.

"Here's a recipe for disaster," Mr. Darrell said. "You have approximately half of your students in one learning environment and the other half in another learning environment. You have a set of benchmarks for overall achievement that are different in one system than in another system.

"You're actually contributing to 'class-ism'. If you can't afford to give your child an education in the private school system, the perception is that your child is further behind. And when you see these kind of benchmark indicators with regard to scholarship recipients, I don't think it's just a perception."

Government needs to better define its academic standards, he argued, as there is a real concern that the public system is educating "the worker class" and the private school system "the professional class".

"I'm concerned about that and I'm not just speaking politically," Mr. Darrell said. "I was educated in the public system here. I believe in it. But I also believe that we need to return to clearly defined higher academic standards of overall performance.

"We need to return to the issue of higher overall accountability of individual schools to ensure the best educational experience for our children. We just don't have it.

The MP praised the National Training Board for its efforts and successes but stressed the importance of a having a strong academic programme ? something he feels can only be achieved through a reorganisation of the present system.