Premier Alex Scott described new Education Minister Neletha Butterfield yesterday as having ?an almost unmatchable personal passion and dedication? to helping young people and all Bermudians.

He told a press conference at Government House that the woman who opened an alternative learning centre in the basement of her home was ?a true example of the tenets we have ascribed as requirement for leadership in education?.

He said her work as an educator at CARE (Children and Adults Reaching for Education) gave her a critical insight into the plight of the Island?s young black males, adding that the education baton had been passed to someone committed to providing a vision and framework for achieving the goal of educational excellence.

?Minister Butterfield has long been a proponent for the education of both the privileged and, yes, the underprivileged,? he said. ?In this time when we seek solutions to the plight of young black males, Minister Butterfield can boast that she is ahead of the curve in that she has already provided educational instruction to over 250 of those incarcerated in our prison system.

?And to her credit, 150 have received their high school diplomas.?

Ms Butterfield?s appointment was welcomed by the Ministry of Education?s new Permanent Secretary Rosemary Tyrrell. ?I am looking forward to working with Minister Butterfield,? she said. ?I throw my full support behind Minister Butterfield because it?s all about the children. I know that to her it?s been the children all along.?

Bermuda Employers Council president William DeSilva said: ?We congratulate Minister Butterfield on her new appointment to Education and Development.

?We look forward to working with her to ensure that more of our Island?s students successfully complete the local education curriculum and are prepared for either higher levels of education or to take up their place in the workforce.?

Ms Butterfield has been an English, mathematics and computer technology lecturer at Bermuda College and has helped more than 400 adults obtain high school diplomas, with some going on to university.

In 1994, she received the Best of Bermuda Gold Award for her work as an educator and was elected to Parliament in 1998. She became Minister without Portfolio before taking up the Environment post.

Although not seen as the smoothest performer in the House of Assembly, the former Senator has attracted praise for sticking to her guns on environmental issues, including her decision to refuse the Bank of Bermuda permission to erect a seven-storey office building.

But she was criticised for allowing a Special Development Order to be granted for the building of 96 affordable condos on the site of the old Loughlands Guest House and just days ago admitted that a heavily-criticised Government decision to build a new hospital on ten acres of protected land had been ?difficult?.

Bermuda Union of Teacher president Lisa Trott said she doubted the change in leadership at the Ministry of Education would have much impact on students and teachers.

?Whoever the Minister is at the top doesn?t really make a difference to what actually takes place within the schools,? she said.