...this motion was so significant that we had to put aside party lines and work together in honesty and truth for the benefit of all of Bermuda’s students.
This was not an easy task because it had never been done before and permission for this had to be given by the Rules and Privileges Committee of which the Speaker is the chair. The Speaker and committee Members agreed that the
education of our children was too important and the process of transparency and
accountability was significant to all stakeholders. They therefore agreed that the JSC on Education could open their deliberations to the public. On hearing this historic decision, the daily newspaper quoted that “the Joint Select
Committee on Education opened its doors to the public and press for the first time, becoming the first parliamentary committee in Bermuda to do so in the process”. The headline also read “landmark open committee”.
The committee heard submissions from various stakeholders, community activists, the Ministry of Education, Bermuda Union of Teachers, Bermuda Public Service Union, Electrical Supply Trade Union, Interim Education Board and working groups of the IEB, Association of Principals and the Berkeley Educational Society in addition to emails submitted by members of the public.
The committee is still in the process of reviewing their findings as of this publication and look forward to tabling their
considerations, reviews and reports of their findings in the Review of Public Education in Bermuda.
The Parliamentarian | 2009: Issue One - Bermuda | 35
Opposite page: The Berkeley Institute; a coeducational school in Pembroke West, Bermuda. Above: Cedarbridge Academy, a high school in Devonshire, Bermuda.