of condoms in schools.

Unlike his predecessor Public Safety Minister Quinton Edness, who has advocated making condoms available "wherever young people gather'', Dr.

Terceira told The Royal Gazette : "I'm very much against putting them in a bowl or in a machine.'' But he made it clear he would support having condoms available in schools, if they could be distributed by a staff member trained to counsel students seeking them.

In fact, Dr. Terceira said he has -- with the consent of Education Minister Jerome Dill -- placed the matter in the hands of the Comprehensive School Health committee which, through the Health for Success programme, aims to improve each student's educational and personal achievement "while providing them with skills necessary for decision-making in the area of health''.

He noted that after attending one of the committee's workshops during his second week in the Health Ministry he realised such an issue would fall within the realm of their studies.

"I talked to (nutritionist) Ms (Betsy) Baillie and she was going to pass it on to Janette Musson (of the Lions Life Quest Skills programme),'' Dr.

Terceira recalled, adding the committee would be responsible for studying the "whole business of health'' including teen pregnancies.

He also noted that a local survey showed teens preferred to discuss sex with those in the medical field such as nurses, rather than school officials such as guidance counsellors.

"This is understandable,'' Dr. Terceira said, "because this is not their area of expertise. But they will accept talking to a nurse. "But you need a nurse with expertise in this area.'' Recalling he knew a Canadian nurse who was instrumental in drastically reducing teen pregnancies in a Canadian school through counselling the students, Dr. Terceira said: "Counselling was the most important part.

Without counselling such a programme will not be a success.'' However, he stressed he did not want to impose his views on the health committee with which he planned to meet next week.

Speaking on behalf of the committee, Chief Medical Officer John Cann said he expected it would share with Dr. Terceira "feedback'' gathered from focus groups of students and conferences with parents and teachers held over the years.

"I think there's a mixed bag in terms of how students feel about condoms in schools,'' Dr. Cann added. "I don't think there is a clear-cut picture.

"The committee is expected to consider questions such as should condoms, if they are made available, be distributed by nurses or school counsellors or whether it they will be available in a vending machine.

"But it really comes down to whether students want this and more importantly what parents want.'' A study carried out by WAVE Marketing for AIDS-support group The Allan Vincent Smith Foundation earlier this year showed that while most teens had a clear understanding of the spread of AIDS and other sexually-transmitted diseases, many still refused to protect themselves during sex.

While 81 percent of the teens polled said they learned of AIDS in school, nearly 55 percent admitted they continued to have sex and refused to use condoms.

Thirty-five percent of the teens said they believed the best place for condoms to be available was in schools while a further 35 percent preferred pharmacies.

Mount St. Agnes Academy -- which has come out adamantly against making condoms available in schools -- has invited the director of AIDS services for the Archdiocese of Boston Sister Zita Fleming to speak with parents on the topic at the school this evening.

The meeting, which is open to the public, is scheduled to begin at 7.30 p.m.

in the school's auditorium.

AIDS AID EDUCATION ED