both sensible and timely. We partly agree.

It was sensible to replace Education Minister the Hon. Gerald Simons with the Hon. Dr. Clarence Terceira, who has an established reputation as a fixer and builder.

But it may be too late. Mr. Simons, no matter how sincere his efforts, has been at the helm of a Ministry that has done serious damage to the United Bermuda Party's credibility as a sound manager of the Island's affairs.

During the course of his efforts to create a reform plan for the public school system, the Minister took proposals from an Education Planning Team that brought together people from all spectrums of society and somehow turned them into a broad coalition of criticsm against the Government.

The political significance of the mishandling would not be so serious for the UBP if it was restricted to just Mr. Simons in Warwick East.

But it has Island-wide implications, and could very well affect the outcome of the next election.

For example, Mr. Simons' misfortune has benefited Ms Jennifer Smith, his Progressive Labour Party counterpart, to the point she may be able to pull her running mate, Mr. Leon (Jimmy) Williams, to a double victory -- this in St.

George's North which until one election ago was a UBP sure bet.

Elsewhere, the last election saw at least four other seats decided by margins so close that parents now soured by Government's handling of education could well swing enough support to the PLP to give it the Government.

Whether Premier Swan's Cabinet change is timely will depend in the end on Dr.

Terceira, who finds himself in the unlikely role as the man who could save the UBP.

Sir John characterised the Education shuffle as a hand-off from Mr. Simons, the "architect'', to Dr. Terceira, the builder.

The success of that pitch will depend on the new Minister moving quickly and surely to make people forget Government dithering and uncertainty on education.

Not only must he do something that shows real progress in education, he must restore public faith in a system which Government has said needs drastic reform but which it has failed to change.

Dr. Terceira has already proven himself as a doer and fixer, whose nuts-and-bolts approach to his work can erase political liability.

He took over Works and Engineering when its reputation had been damaged by the airport construction project and its expertise questioned over its planning for the Tynes Bay incinerator.

No longer are they political handicaps for the Government.

At Wednesday's press conference, Sir John said Dr. Terceira's experience with building projects gave him "the ideal qualifications to take over the Ministry of Education at this time''.

Minutes later, Dr. Terceira talked about "fast-tracking'' education building plans.

If his work before the next election demonstrates that Government is moving forward on education, then Sir John's shuffle may well have been timely enough to get an election-losing monkey off the UBP's back.