It can be linked to many of the Island's problems, including unemployment, drugs, crime, and the high prison population.

And many believe the outcome of the election, and ultimately the Island's future, hinges on it.

None are more aware of this than Education Minister the Hon. Clarence Terceira and Progressive Labour Party Education spokeswoman Ms Jennifer Smith.

Both believe a comprehensive education system will boost youngsters' self-esteem and viability in the work force. It may also mean a decrease in those who fall through the cracks, drug abuse, crime, and the prison population, they said.

And each have promised that their party, as the Government, would see that this is done.

To achieve it, they both agree, Bermuda has to revamp its "elitist'' public school system and introduce a system whereby all children have access to equal education and opportunities.

To help Government do this, dozens of educators, business people, and others in the community were brought together by the United Bermuda Party Government in the late 1980s and came up with some 200 recommendations on improving the public school system.

The Education Planning Team made suggestions ranging from focusing on the needs of adolescents to having education officials, who have been out of the classroom for years, return.

Acting on the recommendations, the United Bermuda Party Government originally came up with plans to convert five high schools into middle schools by 1995 and to build one senior secondary school which would take in some 1,500 students after they completed middle school.

The plans were the most radical proposed since the racial integration of schools in the 1960s.

But the single senior secondary school idea was heavily criticised Island-wide and then-Education Minister the Hon. Gerald Simons later announced there would be two three-year senior secondary schools and five four-year middle schools.

But earlier this year, he announced that such a plan would have required such extensive renovations and additions that Sandys Secondary and Warwick Secondary would have had to close for up to two years.

Government, therefore, announced in February its current education reform plans.

It includes building the Island's first four-year senior secondary school at Prospect by 1997, converting the Berkeley Institute into a senior secondary school by 1999, and converting five other high schools into three-year middle schools for 11 to 14 year olds. The new school system is scheduled to be in place by 2002.

The middle schools concept, which is generally popular, separated adolescents from older students and places more emphasis on them as they go through physical and emotional changes.

The UBP has also promised to: Have a pre-school in every parish by January, catering to more than 50 percent of the Island's four year olds; Integrate all special students into mainstream schools; Create a National Education Foundation to ensure that all "qualifying'' students receive loans for post-secondary education; Complete the consolidation of Bermuda College at Stonington within three years; Provide "a greater choice in technical craft and vocational training''; Expand parental and community involvement in the operation and management of schools through an increased school boards system; Ensure teachers are given on-going opportunities for professional training; and Build links between business and schools by promoting "Adopt-a-School'' programmes.

Dr. Terceira said that with many of these plans underway, he believes "people are generally satisfied with what we're doing and there is a high acceptance of what we plan to do''.

While admitting there were individual concerns about specific problems in schools, he said the Education Department -- "which is much more sensitive and aware of what's out there in the field'' -- is addressing them.

Overall, Dr. Terceira said, Bermuda's education system is enviable -- particularly at the primary level.

"We must be doing something right when we can put our primary school system up to any system in the world and we outshine countries like the US and Canada in CAT (California Achievement Test) scores,'' he said.

"Sometimes people are quick to say our senior schools are not up to scratch.

Yes, they do need improvement. However, when we see 64 percent of our young people going to college, we must be doing something right.'' Dr. Terceira said teachers and principals could take much of the credit for this.

Boasting that the number of local high school students furthering their education is four times the number of those in the UK and exceeds the 33 percent in the US and 15 percent in Japan, he said: "It is probably the highest in the world. We are producing beyond the norm in college graduates.'' Ms Smith, however, challenged the figure.

"That (64 percent) figure comes from something that fifth-year high schools student filled out before leaving school,'' she said.

"They were asked if they intended to go on to further education.'' Ms Smith said the number of high school students in Bermuda who furthered their education is really 15 percent.

She said if Bermuda was doing better than Japan, which is renowned for its heavy emphasis on education, there would be no problem with the school system.

And she said comparing Bermuda's education standards with the US, which ranks 13th in the world, was nothing to brag about.

While stressing that Bermuda has an education foundation on which it could build, she said the UBP Government approached building on that foundation the wrong way.

The UBP Government had failed to follow some of the crucial EPT recommendations, she said, including making the Education Department more accountable.

Because of this, she added, parents have no confidence in the public school system and are opting to put their children in private schools even if they cannot afford it.

Ms Smith noted she recently received an anonymous letter from a St. George's UBP supporter who stressed that he or she was not for the PLP, "but will be voting PLP'' because his or her son's needs were not being met in the public school system.

Saying it would be difficult for a PLP Government "to pick up the pieces which Government has left us with today'', Ms Smith said as Education Minister she would start by trying to restore public confidence in the system.

She said she would also: Put teaching assistants in the classroom to allow teachers to practice alternative teaching methods; Increase interaction between parents and schools by having teachers visit homes and parents visit schools; Make sure the Education Department has a "proper'' facility so it can be "more efficient''; Have education administrators, who have been out the classroom for 10 years or more, return to understand what is going on with teachers and students; Ensure all schools have equal facilities in terms of physical plant, teaching, and support staff, materials and services; Ensure the Child Development Project be given permanent status and be coordinated with the Education Department; and Lower the school age to four and provide "sufficient public pre-schools to ensure that all children receive a head-start on education''.

The two latter plans are crucial, Ms Smith said noting that research shows that what happens between age four and nine sets the stage for a student's entire educational experience.

"Prevention is better than cure. If the problems were detected at an early stage, then we would have eliminated the majority of the problems we have seen in schools.'' Dr. Terceira, however, said there was varying information on children's formative years and he said a UBP Government would not lower the school-entry age because it believed that parents should have a choice in whether or not they send their four-year-olds to school.

OCTOBER 1993 ELECTION