Businessman Mark Byrne last night revealed that he quit as Board of Education chairman due to a lack of "political will" to improve public schools.

The Flagstone Re boss, who resigned just six months into the job, told The Royal Gazette: "While I am pleased the board has been able to move incrementally in the right direction, I have concluded the political will does not currently exist to make the kind of more radical change I feel would be necessary to get the system to truly world class.

"I have made it clear from the beginning that I feel the only thing that matters is improving student outcomes. This means other things, such as creating jobs and Bermudianisation, were low priorities to me. They turned out to be higher priorities at the political level."

Education Minister El James said in a statement yesterday he reluctantly accepted Mr. Byrne's resignation. A Ministry spokesman said last night that the Minister had no comment on Mr. Byrne's remarks.

Former Education Minister Randy Horton described Mr. Byrne's claim about a lack of political will as "totally off base".

"If he's actually interested in helping, then whenever he saw it lacking he should have done his best to bring about change and not just go," he said.

"If he [Mr. Byrne] really wants to assist, I think that's a statement that's not helpful. He's been there less than seven months. That means he wasn't fully committed."

The PLP backbencher, who was replaced by Mr. James a year ago, said he believed Mr. Byrne was thwarted in his attempts to bring overseas staff into the Ministry to oversee the new Cambridge International Curriculum.

"I think that may be one of the reasons he's gone," he said. "He wanted to bring in, I'm made to understand, a whole lot of people from outside. I think it's probably because he hasn't had his own way and you can't expect to have it all your way all the time."

Mr. Horton said Government was totally committed to improving education. "Certainly speaking from when I was Minister, the bottom line was to work towards creating an education system that was world class and I think the new Minister also has that commitment."

He said children should be the focus of those seeking to overhaul the school system. "If they are really the focus then you all continue to work hard and work harder, even though you may disagree. You don't leave the ship."

Board of Education member Darren Johnston, managing partner of PricewaterhouseCoopers Bermuda, was named yesterday as new chairman.

Mr. Byrne, who will not remain on the board, leaving one slot vacant, said: "I believe the Minister has made an excellent choice for the new chairman and I wish him well."

The statement from Mr. James said: "When I first approached Mr. Byrne about taking on the role of chairman, he expressed some reluctance, given his hectic schedule and demanding work commitments.

"However, I truly believe that under his leadership the board's decision to adopt the Cambridge International Curriculum will have a long lasting impact on public education in Bermuda.

"Mr. Byrne brought a sense of urgency to both the board and the Department of Education. His message that the status quo is not good enough has been well received. I have wished Mr. Byrne all the best for the future and I'm sure that we will keep in touch and that he will continue to contribute to public education."

The board was formed in March 2009 but due to the wording of the Education Act, the appointments were backdated to September 2008.

Father-of-four Mr. Byrne said in March that his appointment was initially for a year but he hoped to serve for longer for the sake of continuity, after two education boards were disbanded in the space of two years.

"What I hope is that in five years from now, El James is still our Minister and I'm still doing this," he said at the time.

Shadow Education Minister Grant Gibbons said yesterday: "The chairman of the education board is an important role. I think it is unfortunate that Mark Byrne has stepped down because from what I can see he brought energy and real drive to the position of chairman. He was responsible for pushing for the Cambridge curriculum."

Dr. Gibbons added: "Continuity has been a serious problem for the Ministry of Education and a number of their senior positions. In Mark Byrne's case, if someone is doing a good job, you want them to continue."