The cost of educating a single student at Bermuda College is now more than $26,000, according to the latest enrolment figures for the publicly-funded quango.

Senator Kim Wilson revealed this week that the number of students at the college was 327 full-time, 364 part-time and 323 in professional or career education. The budget for the college, meanwhile, has risen by almost $1 million this year — from $17,254,000 to $18,195,000. The 323 students enrolled in continuing education — i.e. on professional or career courses rather than on college credit courses — do not benefit from the Government grant.

That means that taxpayers’ cash is spent on educating the other 691 students at the college — at a cost of $26,331 each. The true figure may be even higher because more than half the students are only taking part-time courses.

Sen. Wilson said on Wednesday in the Senate that the ratio of staff to students was one to 11 but insiders at the college claim the number of staff is higher than that figure would indicate.

Opposition Leader of the Senate Kim Swan said: “Information has it the number of staffing levels has increased a considerable amount and now it’s one professor for two students.”

The Royal Gazette has been unable to find out how many staff the college currently employs. But a source told this newspaper: “The number of instructional staff is in the region of 120 to 125.”

That would give a ratio of staff to students of about one to eight.

Former Opposition Leader Grant Gibbons described the cost of $26,331 per student as “an extraordinary number”. He said there appeared to be increasing faculty and a declining full-time student population.

“Given the significant annual cost to the taxpayer and the surprisingly low number of full-time students, one has to seriously question whether the college is adequately carrying out its mandate to attract and train young Bermudians for both professional and technical courses.”

Former college chairman Nalton Brangman, who was sacked from the board of governors last September, questioned why the Government grant was increasing as student numbers fell.

“I, as a taxpayer, would ask the question that for 327 (full-time) students, how can you spend more than $18 million?” he said. “Are we getting value for dollar on a population that’s smaller than a middle school? If we take the money and do the simple arithmetic, the picture is not good.”

Dr. Eugenie Simmons, director of the college’s Professional and Adult Continuing Education (PACE) centre — which includes some of the 323 continuing education students — confirmed that it was a profit centre which funds itself. She would not comment on other costs. The college and its board chairman Larry Mussenden did not respond to requests for comment yesterday.