The 2015-16 Budget will be made public in less than a month’s time and former Minister Quinton Edness, who expects further debt-reducing cuts, is urging Government to leave funding for education alone.

“The Budget is tight and we have to make a lot of cuts, particularly with the debt we are carrying,” said Mr Edness, whose ministries under the United Bermuda Party administration included home affairs and health.

“The Minister of Finance is right in trying to reduce debt,” he added. “But, despite that, I urged the Government not to cut from education.”

The appointment of Wayne Scott as Education Minister on January 15 marks only the latest of frequent changes at the top for a portfolio that is widely regarded as neglected and a “hot potato”.

The switch prompted columnist Chris Famous to question in this newspaper why education could not have been given a high priority, akin to the Government’s pursuit of the America’s Cup.

Asked if he expected further austerity measures by Government, Mr Edness conceded that the Island’s economy was saddled with a “vast debt”.

He said: “This Government is certainly displaying very serious efforts to reduce it, and I applaud that.

“They have to make cuts. I think they are able to make cuts elsewhere. Transportation or public works, they can chip away there, but two areas should be sacrosanct: health and education — education, in particular.”

The Education Ministry has fallen prey to repeated cuts in recent years and Mr Edness has decried those moves before.

He branded reductions made in the 2011-12 Budget as lacking in common sense and “fundamentally wrong”.

He said: “Education cuts would have a detrimental effect on Bermuda.

“It’s extremely important for Bermuda’s children to be able to compete. It would undermine the future of the country.”

However, Mr Edness said that he sensed that the present administration “may feel as I do”. Just weeks remain before the answer is revealed.

The Budget for the coming fiscal year will be presented on February 20.