OBA’s Ben Smith On Education Authority
Opposition Leader and Shadow Education Minister Ben Smith has proposed 10 changes to the Independent Education Authority Bill to “ensure that the education reform actually establishes the independence, accountability and resources necessary for our children to succeed.”
Mr. Smith said, “The One Bermuda Alliance supports the establishment of an independent Education Authority. We have advocated for this reform because Bermuda needs a public education system that delivers better results for our children.
“After reviewing the legislation, attending briefings and consulting with educators, parents and other stakeholders, the OBA has identified ten areas where the Bill should be changed to achieve the desired outcome because we believe the PLP’s Bill will lead to failure unless these improvements are made.
“Our proposed improvements are:
- 1. Put student outcomes first. Make improved learning, student progress and educational opportunity the Authority’s primary legal responsibility.
- 2. Require independent assessments. Establish external evaluations of schools and the Authority itself, with clear action when performance falls short.
- 3. Protect independence from political interference. Use an independent, merit-based selection process for the founding Board, with the founding Board to then select its Chair and appoint the CEO.
- 4. Give every school its own governing board. Introduce individual primary-school boards through a funded recruitment and training programme, with temporary shared arrangements where necessary.
- 5. Make generic educational results public. Publish regular reports on literacy, numeracy, student progress, attendance and access to support services, while giving parents and students a meaningful voice.
- 6. Make ministerial directions transparent. Require directions to the Authority to be published and laid before the Legislature, with regular reporting throughout the transition.
- 7. Account for every dollar. Ensure the Independent Education Authority budget is subject to Parliamentary scrutiny by separately identifying the line item costs of running the existing education system, establishing the Authority, and improving services being transferred from the Ministries of Health and Works & Engineering.
- 8. Support effective teaching, teacher training and fair employment practices. Establish clear professional standards, development opportunities, accountability and fair employment protections.
- 9. Provide support when students need it. Strengthen early intervention, specialist services, mental-health support, attendance programmes and assistance for families whose children need additional educational help.
- 10.Strengthen independent oversight. Protect lawful disclosures, establish effective complaints and appeal procedures, and ensure that the Authority is accountable to Parliament and the public.
“These are not proposals to delay education reform. They are intended to ensure that the education reform actually establishes the independence, accountability and resources necessary for our children to succeed.
“Recent independent assessment results have again highlighted longstanding weaknesses in educational performance. We need to know what happens when those weaknesses are identified, what support follows, and whether that support produces improvement for our children.
“The Minister stated the Authority should ultimately be judged by what the Authority changes for children in Bermuda’s classrooms. We agree, but how much longer must we wait?
“That commitment must be reflected in the legislation.
“We have waited a long time for an independent Education Authority. Implementation will take years. Taking additional time now to strengthen the framework is a reasonable step towards ensuring that the Independent Education Authority delivers the improvements our children deserve.
“The measure of success cannot simply be that Bermuda has established an Education Authority. It must be that our children are receiving a better education.”
Which provisions of the Bill create the risk of failure?
Which student outcomes?
Who appoints the accessors? How frequently would assesments take place?
What information would be published?
What does fair employment practices mean in practical terms?
Who provides the independent oversight?
We need measurable obligations, not aspirations.
Proposal three calls for protection from political interference through an independent, merit-based selection process for the founding Board.
However, the proposal then gives the founding Board responsibility for selecting its own Chair and appointing the CEO.
That raises another governance question: who holds the founding Board accountable for those appointments?
An independent appointment process does not automatically guarantee independence, competence or transparency.
There should be clear criteria, published appointment procedures, declarations of conflicts of interest and appropriate scrutiny of senior appointments.
There is also a danger of concentrating too much authority in the founding Board at precisely the moment when public confidence in the new institution needs to be established.
Giving every primary school its own governing board could strengthen local accountability and give parents and communities a greater voice.
But it could also create additional bureaucracy, duplication and administrative costs.
Who would recruit these boards? What qualifications or training would members need? Would they have responsibility for budgets, staffing, discipline or educational performance?
Would schools with stronger parent and community networks enjoy better governance than schools serving more disadvantaged communities?
What about secondary schools?
What about the significant challenges of transition?
Hw will teacher performance be evaluated? Will professional development be compulsory? What happens when a teacher consistently fails to meet professional standards?
Where is the OBA’s vision for educational improvement?