principal.

Shadow Education Minister Ms Jennifer Smith made the plea yesterday following the Northlands row.

Last Thursday Mrs. Carol Bassett was confirmed as head of Northlands Secondary School -despite a campaign for acting principal Mr. Warren Jones to get the post.

Now Ms Smith has urged Education Minister the Hon. Clarence Terceira to spell out requirements for becoming a principal.

This would wipe out any impression Mr. Jones had been unfairly treated, she said.

Ms Smith added efforts must be made now to help Mr. Jones become a principal.

"Since Mr. Jones was considered good enough to be an acting principal -- one step below the post of principal -- we cannot now believe that he is not good enough to take the next step to principal without overwhelming evidence that proves otherwise.'' Mrs. Bassett, principal at Somerset Primary School, will take up her new post this September.

Her appointment was made in anticipation of the proposed conversion of Northlands to Dellwood Middle School in 1997.

She has received middle school training in Canada.

Teachers, students and former pupils at Northlands, however, had pushed for Mr. Jones to become head.

They signed a protest petition, which was handed to Education Permanent Secretary Dr. Marion Robinson.

Protesters also plan to hold a rally at 5 p.m. today at Victoria Park in Hamilton.

Three other new principals were also announced last week. They were: Mrs.

Kalmar Richards, Somerset Primary; Mrs. Suzette Walters, Harrington Sound School; and Mrs. Cathy Bassett, East End Primary.

Said Ms Smith yesterday: "All teachers should know what they need in terms of both qualifications, and experience, in order to be promoted to the post of principal.'' She noted Mr. Jones had been a teacher for 15 years.

For three of these years Mr. Jones had been acting principal, said Ms Smith.

"The Minister of Education should publish guidelines to eliminate any perception that Mr. Jones was unfairly treated.'' She added: "Clarifying the procedure, which must be followed if one wants to become a principal, does not mean interfering with the Public Services Commission.

"Rather, it looks at the process whereby the Ministry of Education arrives at a short list which is then forwarded to the Commission.'' Ms Smith also expressed concern at the lack of black male Bermudian teachers.

"Where we have exemplary black male Bermudian teachers who desire to become principals, we should look at the positive effect this could have on black Bermudian male students in the system.

"Particularly when, as a society, we know that there are a large number of single parent families headed by females, that black male students are in greater danger of dropping out of school, and that school sometimes provides the only positive influence in some students lives.''