Statement by Shadow Education Minister Ben Smith:
Why are some schools closed unnecessarily?
Bermuda recovers quickly from Hurricanes yet once again Public Education lags behind. Our children have already lost two days of learning due to the hurricane, and then late Thursday the Ministry announced another unnecessary closure for Friday. The island’s recovery effort began at 7am on Thursday so what was the delay to assess all schools? Why didn’t the schools deemed safe reopen? This created a major inconvenience for parents who had to return to work and now had to scramble for childcare. Students, already facing learning challenges and school issues are once again paying the price for government indecision.
The Minister must answer:
• If some schools were cleared as safe why were they still closed?
• Why did it take so long to make this decision when the island’s recovery was underway within hours?
• Why is Public Education the last to return to normal when Bermuda as a whole bounced back so quickly?
The people of Bermuda deserve straight answers. Our children cannot afford to lose more learning time, and parents should not be left in the lurch because of poor planning.
