in Bermuda's secondary schools.

"Whether or not a person has sex is a personal decision,'' Allan Vincent Smith Foundation vice-president Ms Jo-Carol Robinson said in a news release.

"The safest way to avoid contracting a sexually transmitted disease, or HIV infection, is to abstain. Many young people decide otherwise and therefore must be educated so that they understand the consequences of their decisions.

"If they decide to have sex, then `condom sense' must prevail,'' Ms Robinson said.

On Tuesday, Health and Social Services Minister the Hon. Quinton Edness said he was considering a plan to make condoms available in secondary schools as part of a broader AIDS prevention plan aimed at young people.

But first, he said he wanted to be sure there was general support for such a change.

Some feel availability of condoms would mean increased promiscuity among young people.

In her statement, Ms Robinson said that condoms are not already available in schools "may come as a surprise to many''.