The causes are many: the problems are intractable, the internal politics Byzantine, and the pace of change is glacial.

And there is, as Shadow Education Minister Tim Smith noted in the House of Assembly on Monday, a disconnect between the Ministry and the schools -- where the real work happens.

There is one further problem. When it comes to education, everyone is an expert, because everyone has been to school and everyone has solutions for education, often based on their own experiences.

People who thrived in so-called "elite'' systems want more elitism. People who suffered in elite systems, or who were cut out at an early age by the 11-plus system want less.

People who suffered under strict discipline want less discipline; people who did not get enough or who feel they benefited want more. And so it goes.

In the end, it comes down to standards and money.

Once upon a time, so-called academic students in Bermuda took GCE `O' Levels at the age of 16 or 17 and how they performed determined whether they went onto university or not.

Many students did not take them. Some ended up in university by dint of their own hard work. Others never did.

The system was imperfect and in some cases unfair.

Now it has been replaced by the Secondary School Certificate and high school graduation. Few understand it and it leads to frustration when -- as in the case of the Police cadets in January -- students who received reasonable grades in high school utterly fail in college.

Thus one set of standards -- albeit unfair ones -- has been replaced by another which seems meaningless.

Minister without Portfolio Randy Horton told the House on Monday that a newly hired civil servant in the Ministry of Education will now set the standards needed. We will see.

Mr. Smith raised the question of cost. The Ministry of Education spends $13,000 a year on each student in the public schools. Private schools charge parents $7,000 to $8,000 per year for what, judging by the results, is a superior education.

Private schools have certain advantages, notably that parents spending that kind of money are more likely to get involved with their children's school and to demand results.

And the Education Ministry must provide supervision of all schools, private and public, which adds to their costs.

Having said that, the Opposition has a point when it questions why more Budget money is being spent on the Ministry than in the schools.

What would happen if an external examination was selected to test Bermuda's students -- with some add-ons such as Bermuda history -- and some of the highly qualified officials in the Ministry were sent back to teaching? It is possible that students would be able to lay claim to an internationally recognised qualification -- and that results might improve too.