Good day Bermuda,

I am delighted to be here today to share with you how the 2023/24 Ministry of Education Budget Allocation will support our commitment to providing strategic leadership and policy direction for education and life-long learning.

For the fiscal year 2023/24, the Ministry of Education has budgeted $139.8 million to carry out our remit, which reflects an increase of $3.7 million from the 2022/23 revised estimate.

Education Reform

On a path to a better Bermuda, our Ministrywholeheartedly believes that Education Reform and the transformation of the Bermuda Public School System are vital for our children's and our future's success.

As we continue with our third year of Education Reform, we are confident that the work that is being undertaken by our staff, community members, and change partners will enable us to achieve the priorityareas for our strategic plan, which are:

1. Increasing academic rigour and student engagement

2. Ensuring career, College, and workforce readiness

3. Enhancing the quality of teacher practice and systemleadership

4. Improving the infrastructure and instructionalresources

5. Ensuring system success

Over the last two years, the Ministry's budget has funded several Education Reform initiatives that are well underway.

In September 2022, the first two Signature Learning Programmes were phased in at CedarBridge Academy and The Berkeley Institute for incoming S1 students.

This includes:

47 students engaged in the Financial and InsuranceServices and 58 students engaged in the Health and Social Care Signature Learning Programmes at the Berkeley Institute and 66 students engaged in the Trades and Professions, and 84 students engaged in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Signature Learning Programmes at CedarBridge Academy. 17 students have chosen to continue with a traditional pathway.

The learning that our S1s are currently engaged in willcreate a generation of young people who are engaged,adaptive, entrepreneurial, innovative, culturallyconnected, and empowered. These attributes will enable our young people to be creators of the jobs of the future, to be active citizens and tackle increasingly complex challenges.

However, this is just the beginning. Whilst our educators at The Berkeley Institute and CedarBridge Academy are delivering our first year of Signature Learning Programmes, they're using the learning garnered through this process to shape what is required for S2 and S3. And we're not stopping at just what happens in the Signature Learning Programmes, teamsof teachers at both Signature Senior Schools are also focusing on redesigning the first two disciplines in the core curriculum: Mathematics and Science and on scaling a new model of advisory, which caters to the more important than ever area of social-emotional learning.

To move forward with the next phase of Education Reform, this Government is increasing our commitment and investment to ensure we have the right people in place to govern, lead and deliver Education Reform for Bermuda.

The PLP government has allocated additional funding to support the following:

• The continued transformation of Francis Patton Primary School and Purvis Primary School to Parish Primary Schools as they prepare to begin operations as a Parish Primary Schools in September 2023

• The preparation for the introduction of a third Signature Senior School at the Sandys SSMS site in September 2024

• Preparation for additional transformed schools in the upcoming years

• The Learning First Programme, which is the foundation of Education Reform and in 2023/24, will focus on restructuring curriculum and learning while strengthening teacher development and education. And,

• The ongoing operations of the Education Reform Unit.

The Education Reform Unit, which compromises specialists from within and beyond education, is responsible for ensuring all system conditions are in place and delivered on time, on budget and to standards comparable with a world-class education.

The focus of the Education Reform Unit in the 2023/24 fiscal year include:

• Reorienting the system to nurture, empower and sustain the transformation of our schools;

• Redesigning models of learning, teaching and schooling

• Rebuilding the infrastructure;

• Reengaging stakeholders;

• Reconceptualising​ how​ the​ system​ and​ schools​ are​governed;​ and, importantly;

• Remembering the history and legacy of education in Bermuda.

Let me provide more detail on the last two areas of focus.

The Education Authority and History and Legacy Committee

In keeping our promise to establish both an Education Authority and History and Legacy Committee.

Key to the success of Education Reform is theintroduction of a new governance and management structure and culture. The Education Authority Working Group is tasked with providing, inconsultation with relevant stakeholders,recommendations and proposals to the Government onestablishing and operationalising the Education Authority, including, as stated in the Speech from the Throne last November that "the Government will advance a Bill to create an Education Authority in the 2023 legislative year".

The Education Authority will take full responsibility for Public Education, thereby minimising thepoliticisation of Public Education. The Authority willhave a Board, and each school will have a SchoolBoard accountable to the main Authority Board. The Authority will replace the Department of Education - all of the Department's responsibilities will transfer to the Authority.

The History and Legacy committee will also be established to document, honour, and commemorate Bermuda's educational and school history. Not only is this work vital for our community, but it is also criticalto our understanding of who we are as Bermudians.

The Ministry of Education is dedicated to transforming the existing system, built on the history and legacy of our ancestors so that we can unlock every child's potential and create a better environment for successfulschools.

We are investing in the future of Bermuda and recruiting the entire community to engage in the process.

The Department of Education

The Department of Education will continue to provide our Bermuda Public School System students with equitable access to holistic, high-quality instruction that is culturally relevant and empowers them to reach their full potential.

The Department will focus on teaching and operationalresources to support staffing, curriculum, infrastructure, and development for implementing the two parish primary schools in September 2023.

The Ministry of Education is also responsible for the Department of Libraries & Archives and the Bermuda College.

Bermuda Government Scholarships and Awards and The Bermuda College

Our Ministry recognises the continued necessity of supporting students in their pursuit of tertiary education and its overall impact on our economy.

In 2023/24, the Ministry has budgeted $630,000 for external grants, and of those funds, $450,000 has been set aside to fund the merit-based "College Promise" programme. These funds are awarded to public school graduates with a GPA of 3.0 or higher with a $5,000 scholarship to attend Bermuda College.

Also, over $1.3 million dollars will be allocated to theMinistry's annual Scholarships and Awards programme. These include Bermuda Government Scholarships, Non- Traditional Student Awards, Further Education Awards, Minister's Achievement Scholarships, Applied Science Scholarships, Exceptional Student Awards, Technical & VocationalAwards and, Bermuda College Book Awards. Theseawards enable students to obtain education they may not have access to otherwise.

In 2023/24 the annual grant to the Bermuda College will remain the same as last year at $14.6 million dollars.

In 2023/24 the Bermuda College will continue to work with the Department of Education to provide college courses to qualified students through its Dual Enrolment programme as part of the new Signature Learning programmes introduced to the Bermuda Public School System curriculum. The College will continue to forge alliances with professional credentialing and accrediting agencies for workforce development and professional certifications, such as the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), Building Owners and Managers Institute (BOMI) for building owners and managers, City & Guilds for the applied sciences; Global Knowledge for information technology, International Compliance Association (ICA), Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists (ACAMS) and KIXKO for compliance; and local professional bodies.

The College will implement a prior learning assessment programme to allow students to earn college credit for learning gained outside of a traditional academic environment. It will also developan entrepreneurship course as part of its Associate in Business programme and complement its technical education programmes.

Bermuda College will also continue to expand its articulation agreements with higher educationinstitutions in the United Kingdom and throughoutNorth America to ensure a seamless transition for Bermuda College graduates who wish to pursue additional education at 3 and 4-year institutions.

As part of the Government's agenda this year, Bermuda College will utilise a

$300,000 tuition grant to assist students with financial needs in the academic and APACE divisions. A comparative number of students is anticipated to be assisted with the 2023/24 grant.

Libraries and Archives

The Department of Libraries & Archives facilitates access to information for research, inspiration, lifelonglearning and recreation. The 2023/24 budget allocation for the Department of Libraries and Archives is approximately $3 million dollars.

In 2023/24, in keeping with international trends, the Department has eliminated the fines for overdue books. We believe that this, in conjunction with the increase use of e-books, has reduced the number of books reported as lost.

The Department also plans to update its publiccomputer equipment/workstations in the upcoming year, and this will enable our plan to offer basic computer tutelage. Through assisting patrons and observing data, it is evident that there is a need to support the technology timid as the Department found that a vulnerable segment of the populace that is beingleft behind (evidenced by many patrons not knowingwhat a mouse is, how to get onto the internet or that they must remember their passcodes etc.).

An investment of $23,000 will be used to upgrade the security systems at the Government Record Centre.

Conclusion

Bermuda, Education Reform remains our main priority as we focus on helping our children to follow theirpassions and interests, build on their talents andcapabilities, and achieve their career and furtheraspirations.

We are creating schools and a school system where every child has great learning outcomes and life opportunities for them, our economy, and our nation's future.

Today, I have provided a brief overview of what the next fiscal year will involve, and I encourage all to tune in on Monday, March 13, where I will go into further depth about the total budget.

Rest assured that our efforts will continue to transform education in Bermuda because we recognise that education is undoubtedly one of the most critical aspects in our path to a better Bermuda.