The chairman of Bermuda College has hit back at a call by one of his predecessors for the facility to be dismantled due to the falling number of full time students.

Larry Mussenden said last night he was "surprised and disappointed" that Nalton Brangman had called publicly for the college — which revealed last week it had just 291 full time students — to be partitioned and a separate technical institute built on the Paget campus. Mr. Mussenden issued a statement criticising Mr. Brangman, who was sacked as chairman of the college's board of governors just over a year ago, for seeking "to undermine and dismantle the institution of which he had the honour of being the chairman".

Former Attorney General Mr. Mussenden claimed Mr. Brangman lavished praise on the college in its annual report while chairman. "The normal position for former post holders of any public post is to give their advice quietly and their support publicly," he added. "We commend such a practice to Mr. Brangman; alternatively, his conflicting statements only serve to undermine his own credibility in the eyes of the public."

Mr. Brangman, also a former chairman of the National Training Board (NTB), which sponsors technical students, said his suggestion was based on concerns that the college's technical education programme was woefully inadequate for the Island's needs. "After following the chairman's advice of quietly suggesting this for six years, I now believe the public should hear it," he said.

Mr. Mussenden said in his statement that the college was experiencing a trend evident in community colleges all over North America — an increase in the number of part time students and a fall in full time enrolments. He said the poor graduation rate at the two public senior schools here did not help.

The chairman added that 62 percent of students enrolled in public community colleges in the US were part time. "At Bermuda College, the number is 73 percent, slightly higher than the average norm due to the decrease in the number of students from our feeder schools."

He said: "The former chairman would have people believe that Bermuda College's full time enrolment is its total enrolment when in actual fact full time enrolment is only a part of the enrolment figures. It should also be noted that not only are the college's part time enrolment figures up, but male enrolment and overall enrolment have also seen increases."

Mr. Mussenden said the college was committed to helping improve graduation rates to increase full time student numbers and was pleased with the opportunities on offer to both traditional and non-traditional students.

"Bermuda College cannot control external factors such as declines in graduation rates," he said. "The board and the senior management team can, however, ensure that the focus of the institution remains relevant to its key stakeholder groups and to that of its philosophy as a community."

Mr. Brangman said the fact that the NTB was having to send more than 400 students overseas to train each year was proof of the college's failings in technical education.

"The college should be prepared to deliver most of the programmes needed by these Bermudians," he said. "The delivery should be local, not overseas."

He added: "The plight of today's young black males could be different if there were greater training opportunities in the field of technical education. Sadly, the college seeks to distract the attention away from the problem and blame the messenger, while not dealing with the message."