Shadow Education Minister Grant Gibbons claimed the Ministry of Education lacks communication and transparency and wants to know what their plan to is fix the failing education system.

Speaking in the House of Assembly on Friday night, Dr. Gibbons asked Education Minister El James where the five-year plan is after Mr. James made mention of it.

Mr. James told the House earlier that a plan would be revealed laster this month.

Dr. Gibbons said: "I have to say that there are a number of issues here that caught my eye. It's the five-year strategic plan. Shortly after the Hopkins Report come out, there was a promise of a strategic plan.

"It's now almost three years later and we're talking about a five-year strategic plan.

"The issue is we have had the promise of a five-year strategic plan going back to 2007.

"But all we get are these hints and appetisers but why is it taking so long and where are we going if we don't have a plan to get us forward?

Dr. Gibbons questioned whether the Ministry was doing what was best for the students or what was easy for themselves.

"What is the plan here? Where is the substance? Where is the beef three years in? There is no substance. What different things are we going to do here? "We're now in the ninth minister. We have been all over the place. We're looking for a plan that's going to be implemented that we can all believe in.

"We have had no indication as to why the minister is not prepared to move forward on these recommendations. "We simply don't have that kind of communication and transparency.

"We either are or are not going to close the primary schools. Maybe not in September but maybe later on down the road.

"A lot of people will be saying why should I put my child in Gilbert Institute in September if they're going to be closed in a year.

"The honourable member has a difficult job but would make it a lot easier for himself if there was greater communication, transparency and a better plan of where we are going.

"It just seems to continue to go on with no clearer sense of direction here."

El James responded and said: "Let me start off with one of the things he says. There seems to be a lack of communication and trust.

"When I first started in this job, I reached out to everyone and even that honourable member to meet weekly.

"Where did that trust break down? And now he's trying to clutch at straws because I find that I couldn't trust him.

Dr. Gibbons interrupted and said the meetings were monthly. Mr. James continued: "When I sit down with a person every week I go over plans and I would go through and brief him on every thing that we were doing.

"And not once did I get anything that said I don't agree. Then he makes statements to the press and I say 'honourable member what is this' and he says 'it's politics'."

Dr. Gibbons suggested Mr. James was lying and said: "He should withdraw that"

But Mr. James continued. "I'm not going to sit here and tell you something that's untrue. Let me say also Mr. Speaker that we put together five-year plans and we're going to all of the stakeholders. We had a two-day seminar.

"Do you know that we have a plan to meet with the opposition to present that five-year plan? They are on that list to meet very shortly.

"We plan to release the five-year plan in the next month. They will be included and they will be given the opportunity to ask some questions."