A former chairman of Bermuda College is calling for it to be dismantled after it was revealed that fewer than 300 full time students enrolled this semester.

Nalton Brangman, who was sacked as chairman of the board of governors in September last year, said the $18 million annual cost to the public of running the college could no longer be justified.He told The Royal Gazette it should be "partitioned" to allow a new technical institute to be built on the Paget campus.

"The college right now cannot justify its existence and as such it needs to be subdivided," he said. "The almost $20 million budget being spent is not being spent wisely. It is time that there was a change of policy direction. I think there needs to be a bold statement made and a bold new direction."

The latest enrolment figures for the college show that it now has just 291 full time students a drop of more than 20 percent from the start of term last September. The figure is likely to fall further as the year progresses and students drop out. In February this year, the number of full time students had dropped to just 255.

Shadow Education Minister Grant Gibbons also expressed concern about the declining numbers.

"When you look at the dramatically low number of full time students ... you have to conclude that Bermuda College is not adequately carrying out its mandate to attract and train young Bermudians for both technical and professional careers," he said."It's clearly time for another external management audit of the College to look at leadership, quality of instruction, programmers, curriculum and relevance to both students and employers. The board of governors and the administration then need to act on the deficiencies."

His comments and Mr. Brangman's echo a letter published in this newspaper on August 28, in which the anonymous author claimed that $14 million of the college's $18 million budget goes on salaries despite faculty staff having a drastically reduced workload due to the small number of students.Both Dr. Gibbons and Mr. Brangman have long claimed that the college is failing to provide adequate technical courses for the Island's needs, meaning hundreds of students are now sent overseas to train by the National Training Board.

"Over 400 students study overseas now," said Mr. Brangman. "That's almost double the number of full time Bermuda College students and almost 50 percent of the total Bermuda College population. Yet the college is spending almost $20 million. It just doesn't add up.

"We are spending an exorbitant amount of money for a tiny number of students. It's an unequitable situation."

He claimed that less than a third of the college site was being utilised and that downsizing the educational facility would allow it to focus on those areas it excelled at, such as its liberal arts programme, which he described as an "outstanding success".

"Take the additional buildings out, partition them out of the Bermuda College and make them part of the new technical institute," he said. Mr. Brangman, also a former chairman of the National Training Board, said he would gladly work with Government on a plan of action, having already drawn up a proposal for change while chairman.

"The Country has to look at this," he warned. "We have to supply this training infrastructure so that Bermudians have a hope in the future in the workforce."

Dr. Gibbons added: "The 'elephant in the room', when it comes to opportunities for young Bermudians and advancement in the workforce, is the poor performance of the public education system.

"It has simply failed young Bermudians on many levels. This failure includes Bermuda College."Neither current board chairman Larry Mussenden or the Ministry of Education responded to an e-mail requesting comment.