As promised, Minister of Education Terry Lister tabled Bermuda College financial statements from 1998 and 1999 in the House of Assembly on Friday.

In five weeks Mr. Lister hopes to have tabled almost ten years worth of financial statements for the College in the House.

The statements date back to 1992 and Mr. Lister said that after tabling Friday?s reports only three more need to be tabled, bringing them up to date.

Mr. Lister recently found out that none of the College?s financial reports from 1992 had been tabled so he broke them into groups and will table two or three sets each week bringing them up to 2002. The 2003/2004 reports have not been completed yet. Mr. Lister said that some of the significant events which happened at the College from 1997 to 1999 included the completion of a public perception survey which revealed that the public believed the College provided a good education at a reasonable cost. Another significant event was the introduction of technical programmes in collaboration with the National Training Board in Basic Engineering, Horticultural, Hairdressing and Pre-construction, as well as the introduction of modularised programmes in Culinary Arts and Front Office in the hospitality division, he said. In 1998 the College showed revenues over expenditures in the amount of $114,000 and showed a shortfall of $350,000 in 1999, said Mr. Lister. In 1999 the College waived fees in the amount of $124,000 so students who might not have been able to attend college could do so, he said. Mr. Lister added that Government grants increased from 1997 to 1999 to help to offset the costs incurred by waived fees.