• The following statement was issued today by One Bermuda Alliance Senator Dwayne Robinson, Senate Spokesman on Education…
Dwayne Robinson, OBA Senate Spokesman on Education

The closure of TN Tatem is an opportunity for Government to put more funds towards teacher hiring and development.

The closure of TN Tatem has seemed inevitable for some time and does not come as a surprise. Being built on marshland has given rise to numerous and ongoing issues that both the PLP and OBA have grappled with.

Its closure now offers some opportunities. In our Budget Reply this year, we said: “With a declining youth population, rationalisation of infrastructure will allow more funds to be dedicated towards teacher hiring and development. The Hopkins report focused its findings on the quality of teaching, reforming the Ministry and strategic management.

There will be considerable savings from the school’s closure and these must be reinvested in better support for our teachers and giving schools the equipment they are still lacking.

With this closure we need to know what the master plan is for rationalising all schools. Given the declining school population, what are the Minister’s intentions?

It is all very well having a meeting for the TN Tatem parents, but when will the Minister roll out his plan for the public?