The new Education Law will not come into effect on 1 September. An order revoking the commencement date will be gazetted on Monday, 17 August.
The Education Modernisation Law, 2009 was passed in the LA on 29 March and received the Governor’s assent on 12 May. An order gazetted on 15 May provided for the law to come into force on 1 September.
Now, a new order takes forward Cabinet’s 4 August decision to put off its implementation.
The law aims to promote high standards in education and the teaching profession. Its features include a mandatory national curriculum for all government schools, adding a compulsory school year and raising the school leaving age to 17. It also bans corporal punishment in public and private schools, requiring every school to function under its own written student behaviour and discipline policy.
Leader of Government Business, the Hon. McKeeva Bush, OBE, JP, recently explained that the 1 September start up date did not allow sufficient time for Government to complete necessary consultation and preliminary action required for the law’s proper implementation.
