years despite a decline in student enrolment.

Sen. Jerome Dill (UBP) yesterday stressed this during the education budget debate in the Upper House.

And he said it proved that Government was committed to advancing education in Bermuda.

Enrolment at primary and secondary schools declined, due to the birth rate, from 7,855 in 1983 to 6,936 last year, Sen. Dill noted.

At the same time Government spending on education increased from $30 million in school year 1984/85 to $54 million last year.

Sen. Dill said while the $53.7 million allocated for 1993/94 represented a decrease, it was no more than one-percent or $659,000 less.

He read and agreed with parts of an editorial in last week's Mid-Ocean News which said Education Minister the Hon. Gerald Simons was also concerned about education cuts and set about to find ways of keeping the items targeted.

Sen. Dill said Mr. Simons was just as concerned as parents about cutting summer school programmes and he found a way to keep them.

He also stressed that Mr. Simons "has made it crystal clear'' that no Bermudian teacher will be laid off or made redundant.

Sen. Dill said the PLP's reply to the Budget was also inaccurate in stating that Mr. Simons initially claimed he would fully implement education reforms by 1994.

"I wonder if the authors of this document understand the amount of work and years of planning which will be required to change an entire education system,'' Sen. Dill said, adding that not only was the statement false, but impossible.

Sen. Dill also accused the PLP of misrepresenting Government's new timetable for changes.

"The target date for the beginning of implementation was 1995,'' he said.

"Given the new schedule, the target date for the beginning of the implementation is 1996.

"That is the type of fact that has not been communicated to the public.'' Sen. Dill said while implementation will not begin until 1996, the Budget contained $3 million for start-up work on the senior secondary school at Prospect and more than $100,000 million had been authorised for the entire restructuring.

In addition to this, he said an education Implementation Team and several committees of educators and parents were in place working on various aspects of reforms.

And, he said, some 250 educators had been trained in middle level education and were implementing some of its concepts in the classroom.

Responding to critics who question why the prison is on budget and on time and education was not, Sen. Dill said it showed "Government's commitment to do what's right'' and its "ability to manage''.

"That (the prison) is on budget and on time as the education system will now be, now that we have a plan in place.'' Stressing that the Bermuda College was "without a doubt, one of the shining stars'' of Bermuda's education system, Sen. Dill said the Ministry was looking at setting up some type of exchange programme between the college and senior secondary schools.

He said it was also likely that college professors could be brought into the senior secondary schools to teach "more demanding'' courses that will offered.

A technology officer will also be hired, he said, to oversee technology programmes in existing high schools and to develop a technology curriculum for middle and senior secondary schools.

Citing two commercial advertisements -- "a mind is a terrible thing to waste'' and "show me a parent who is interested and I will show you a child who can learn'' -- Sen. Dill said if the PLP's emphasis was on what parents could do rather than the one-percent cut in education, children "would be a lot better off''.

But Opposition spokesman for education in the Senate, Sen. Trevor Woolridge said it was clear that a majority of Bermudians thought there should be no cuts in education.

And noting Sen. Dill's statement that the beginning of implementing education reforms will only be delayed by a year, Sen. Woolridge said a Government education survey, released last April, represented very clearly the views of Bermudians on that subject.

He also questioned how Sen. Dill could blame the PLP for not giving information on education changes to the public when the Ministry had its own public relations officer and Government Information Services.

Sen. Woolridge said the fact that some 50 additional students have applied for scholarships to Allen University was an indication of "how urgently young people and their parents wanted to further their education''.

He also noted that a parent, in a letter to The Royal Gazette editor on March 15, complained that Mr. Simons admitted at a meeting at St. George's Preparatory that he had not read the Education Act for sometime and was therefore not familiar with certain sections.

"I'm beginning to understand clearly why we've had so many different statements from the Minister,'' Sen. Woolridge said. "He does not understand what he's doing and doesn't know how to go about reforming and therefore should get out of the way.'' Sen. Woolridge also had a list of questions, including whether the Ministry was still consulting Canadian-based Exemplary Consultants and at what cost; and was there still an attendance officer to check on students who skipped school.

Sen. Dill said Exemplary Consultants' contract was set to expire this year, and there had not been an attendance officer since the last one retired last June, but the position was being reviewed.

SENATOR JEROME DILL -- Said Government was committed to advancing education in Bermuda.