saying it was helping pay for a series of public workshops which the comedian will attend.

The superstar is also set to perform at the five-course black-tie banquet on February 12.

The workshops in the morning will be open to the public, but for a fee of $30, Mr. Melvyn Bassett said at a news conference yesterday.

They were aimed at a cross-section of the community -- parents, youngsters, and professionals.

"Using as our theme, Parents -- the Vital Link, we plan to address some of the critical issues affecting youth, families and our community,'' said Mr.

Bassett, head of the joint National Educational Conference Committee.

The association was concerned about the number of teenagers who were slipping through the cracks, he said.

The committee hoped to encourage parental involvement in their kids' formal education and boost awareness of family issues.

"To underwrite the major portion of the cost of the (workshops), and to make it possible for the average parent and for children to attend at a very low cost, a black-tie dinner as a fund raiser will also be held...,'' he said.

Committee member Mr. Dale Butler, head of the Middle School Association, said that as costly as the dinner was, he did not think it was "beyond the realm of Bermudians''. Cosby, listed by Forbes and Fortune magazines as the world's highest paid entertainer -- making more than $50 million a year, will kick-off the six workshops with a keynote address.

It is also expected he will take part in at least one of them, either the children's workshop or one on sexuality, drugs and teens.

Cosby had expressed an interest in working with local youth, Mr. Bassett said.

Other workshops will include talks by Police, anti-drugs campaigners, family and probation services officials, members of 100 Black Men and the Coalition for the Protection of Children.

There will also be a workshop on career planning. And one conducted by the Bermuda Reading Association and featuring guest speaker, Dr. Doris Roettger, head of the International Reading Association.

Educators and parents on the committee planned to follow-up the conference by lobbying private and government agencies in an effort to get them to make available a variety of resources to assist parents on an ongoing basis.

"As you can appreciate, it will be costly to stage a conference of this magnitude,'' Mr. Bassett said. "However, we feel it will represent a worthwhile investment in our community...'' The workshops will be officially opened by Premier the Hon. Sir John Swan at 10 a.m. at the Southampton Princess and will run until 1.30 p.m.

Tickets are limited to 1,400 people due to space and will be sold on a first-come basis.

They are available at all schools and the Bermuda Union of Teachers office.

The dinner takes place at 8 p.m., also at the Southampton Princess and Mr.

Bassett reported tickets were selling "reasonably well''.

The cost of them was criticised this week for being beyond the reach of Bermuda's "have-nots'' and youth.

The only people who could afford the committee of parents and educators' pricey dinner were upper-middle-class folk, angry autograph collector Mr. Leon Edmead charged.

Those who stood most to benefit by Cosby's words of inspiration, the working class, single parents and troubled teens, would be unable to afford the banquet, he said.

"It's a disgrace, especially due to the fact the same thing happened when (US motivational speaker) Les Brown was here last summer,'' Mr. Edmead said.

Last July, a youngster and Opposition Leader Mr. Frederick Wade spoke out against the cost of the Les Brown banquet put on by Mind, Body and Soul Productions.

Mr. Edward Hashim complained the $195-a-plate dinner was for "the rich and already powerful''.

And Mr. Wade said he would have liked Brown's "positive and powerful message'' to reach a wider audience, especially young black males.

Meanwhile, Youth Minister the Hon. Pam Gordon began a bid to bring him back at Government's expense so people could hear his speeches free, saying he had been preaching to those who weren't in need.

Cosby holds a Ph.D in education and has published a number of books on parenting.

His four books enjoyed record-breaking sales success, the most recent being Childhood.

His TV comedy show which ended last year was regarded as the most successful television series of the modern era.

In the fall, Cosby is planning to return to his famous role of Scotty on I Spy for a two-hour TV movie. He is also set to star in four other TV movies. Cosby and his partners produce A Different World, about the college experience.

He lives mostly outside Amherst, Massachusetts with his wife, four daughters and one son.

He and his wife strongly back black educational institutions, donating millions to them over the years and sending two of their children to black colleges.