The Bermuda Democratic Alliance (BDA) has unveiled its education platform — saying the Island's continued success depended on the effective education of young people.

At a press conference yesterday, Myron Piper, the BDA's education spokesman, cited a lack of reforms from the Hopkins Report as part of the problem affecting the education system.

"The future of Bermuda and our continued success depends on our children being effectively educated. Education is also a key factor in correcting Bermuda's socioeconomic disparities, which are increasingly manifesting themselves with escalating anti-social behaviour.

"We believe Bermuda's students are unnecessarily suffering due to failed leadership, a lack of accountability and transparency, and an inconsistent delivery and alignment of curriculum across schools."

The Alliance's platform calls for:

— Implementation of the Hopkins Report, which called for a dramatic improvement in the quality of teaching and leadership by principals and radical reform to the Ministry of Education.

— Imposing a moratorium on further reports and consultants until the Hopkins Report recommendations are fully enacted.

— Immediate halt to social promotion, instead ensuring students are academically prepared to progress onto the next academic level.

— Hiring and maintaining the best teachers based on a contractual performance review.

On the Hopkins Report from 2007, Mr. Piper said: "The Bermuda Democratic Alliance seeks to implement with fidelity the core recommendations of the Hopkins review, as it also supports the belief as stated in the Hopkins review that 'the adoption and implementation of these recommendations will result in a rapid rising of standards in Bermuda's schools'. More succinctly stated by Professor Hopkins 'Re-professionalism.

"Have we achieved this in three years since the review? Absolutely not! The Bermuda public has waited for three years and there has been much unrest and protest as the Government has not only moved away from the core recommendations of the Hopkins review but upon careful scrutiny, many new initiatives have resulted in a substantial waste of money with little or no improvement."

The 2007 Hopkins Report which investigated the state of the public school system, described it as "being on the brink of meltdown". It has been argued that little improvement has been made since.

While the BDA aren't looking to "reinvent the wheel", Mr. Piper said the party is looking to put into effect many of the solutions that have already been identified.

"Education I believe is the single most important and far reaching institution for its citizens. It is the pillar of our society. We don't have years to get this right or time to further analyse the issues at hand.

"We are all aware that education needs immediate attention. We must be deliberate in our actions now so we can prepare the students of today for the challenges and opportunities of tomorrow.

"We must support our teachers and provide them with the tools to succeed. We must strengthen the role of our principals, implement greater accountability across the board and provide confidence and guidance to our parents so our students can thrive not only in Bermuda but stand equally with others on the world stage."

l For more details on the platform, visit www.thealliance.bm.