Education was yesterday given a three percent increase in its budget - with Finance Minister Eugene Cox naming teachers as Government's number one priority this year.

He said a cash injection of $94 million had been allocated to public schools on the Island for the coming year, up almost $2.5 million on last year.

However, the increase will go towards Bermuda College to enable it to pay off its outstanding debts created by losses accrued at the Stonington Beach Hotel.

There was no mention in his Budget speech about proposals to better improve facilities for children with special physical and mental needs, as had been talked about very recently by Education Minister Paula Cox.

And there was also no sign of cash being put aside for a separate facility for badly behaved pupils, which has been requested by both teachers and parents at CedarBridge Academy, and an idea that has been endorsed by Ms Cox.

To summarise, there were no real surprises in the Education budget.

Mr. Cox said he wanted to see the new teacher training course, which was launched last year, continued, and said Government wanted to make progress with plans for a teacher licensing scheme.

But the majority of the increase this year will go towards Bermuda College.

He said: "Government's goals are threefold: "To continually invest in the development of a most important resource - our teachers; to ensure that all those entrusted with the education of our children are suitably qualified; and to recognise the professionalism of teachers.

"The Ministry will continue its work on the project to introduce licensing for teachers. This represents an enormous step forward and will serve to elevate the status of teachers in the community."

And he said the one-year teacher training course at Bermuda College, run in conjunction with Wheelock College in Boston, may be expanded, or at the very least, continued for the foreseeable future.

He added: "The Ministry of Education and Development will provide additional grant funding of $2.2 million to the Bermuda College in 2002-03. This grant is a one-time appropriation to offset a deficit in the college's financial position due to losses incurred by the Stonington Beach Hotel.

"Although the Bermuda College has operated within its own budget, it has been funding cumulative losses for the training hotel. The one-off grant is intended to stabilise the college's financial position. The public may be assured that strict controls have now been placed on the hotel's operating costs, and efforts are underway to assign a management contract for the running of the facility."

In addition, the college has also received a grant of $75,000 for the Bermuda Careers Centre, taking the college's budget to more than $15 million, in comparison to just more than $12.5 million last year.

And last night, chairman of the college board, Jan Spiering, said he was pleased Government had responded to his calls for assistance over the Stonington Beach Hotel debts.

He said: "We did apply for that. The hotel has a ten-year loss history, and this year, with September 11, we have had further problems in occupancy, so the college has been funding these losses for many years.

"We are certainly pleased to have received the additional finance. This will enable us to get back to a level playing field again. It will make good the debt.

"As long as the hotel is dealt with, we will be back on track. But, obviously, if we continue to manage the hotel, we will probably get back to the same position. Hopefully, that won't happen. We are investigating the way forward now.

"The important thing is for us to make sure that we use this (budget) money wisely.....and we focus on student success."

But Mr. Cox also said yesterday that the School Improvement Programme, which was launched in January of last year to help five failing primary schools, will be continued.

General Secretary of the Bermuda Union of Teachers Michael Charles said it was nice to see teachers being made a priority, and described Government's three main education goals as "lofty".

And he said he was pleased to see that the licensing of teachers was still high on the Ministry's agenda, although he said it was "doubtful" it could be launched later this year.

He has been involved in helping to set up the scheme for the last two years, but has urged Government to plough money in to it to enable somebody to be taken on full-time so the massive project can be pulled together.

And yesterday, he said although Government would have to fund the scheme, he did not believe the Ministry should be involved in the running of it.

He said: "It has to be an autonomous body. You don't want people who are hiring and firing teachers to be in charge of licensing, as well."

But whether or not steps will be taken during the coming year to improve facilities for schoolchildren with special needs, it is still unknown.

Minister Paula Cox said last month that she hoped middle schools in the west and east ends of the Island could be refurbished to cater to special needs more, but said it was in the early stages and talks were still ongoing with the Ministry of Works and Engineering.

In this Budget, there is an allocation of $10,000 for a review of special education to be carried out.