A teacher training department will be opened as part of Bermuda College's new Centre for Education.

And the Centre not only aims to accommodate aspiring teachers, but "anyone in the general public who has a real interest in education''.

A press conference yesterday marked the launch of the new Centre and several of the College's top brass were on hand to comment on this latest development.

Chairman of the Board of Governors Randolph Horton explained that the Centre would consist of four departments, the teacher training institute, a prior learning assessment programme, an educational outreach programme, and a research division.

Mr. Horton said the teacher training department would "provide ongoing training and professional development for local teachers as well as educational leadership training for those aspiring to other leadership roles in the area''.

The institute is expected to be fully implemented by September 2000 and is being established in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and the Bermuda Union of Teachers.

College president George Cook said: "You will be aware that Bermuda's bad literacy figures have been featuring in the news recently. We want to do anything we can to help the literacy levels of students.'' He added:"We've had several workshops and conferences recently for maths and computer literacy, but how much young people get out of these all depends on the quality of Bermuda's teaching.'' The Centre's prior learning assessment programme was described as being "designed to evaluate and recognise an individual's work and life experience in order to award Bermuda College credits for their learning''.

Academic and Student Affairs vice president Donald Peters explained: "We want to allow people without degrees and formal education to be recognised for prior work and personal experience with credits.'' The educational centre's director Gina Tucker was described by Mr. Horton as "bringing a wealth of experience and knowledge''.

The former teacher explained how the Centre's educational outreach programme was aiming to "work with schools and students to help them prepare for life at college, so they can see it as a place where they really want to go''.

Asked what sort of response the Centre had had from the community already, Dr.

Tucker said: "We had several calls from people who showed a high amount of interest in getting involved.'' She added that the Centre was hoping to form links with institutions from overseas, because "such partnerships are extremely valuable''.

Also Mr. Horton described the Centre as "hopefully becoming the Island's educational research community''.

"We recognise that research, especially that which is authentic, lays the foundation for growth in any field,'' he said. "We expect the data gathered as a result will positively impact education in Bermuda.

"The Centre for Education will fill a long-standing gap in the education field and will also meet a unique need for further education for adults in Bermuda. This is an exciting development for Bermuda College, and the teachers, students and people of Bermuda.'' Wealth of experience: The director of Bermuda College's new Education Centre Dr. Gina Tucker says she is looking forward to "helping promote quality education as well as continuous professional development''.