Government will release findings from the first audit report on Bermuda's public school system.

Education Minister Jerome Dill yesterday told The Royal Gazette his Ministry was expected to return a draft of the report to the American auditors by the end of the week.

And he speculated that Government would make the 200-page report -- with some 25 findings and 15 recommendations -- public, within days of receiving the final report.

The $45,000 report, prepared by a team led by associate professor of educational administration at Iowa State University William Poston, was completed last year.

Speaking from his Iowa residence yesterday, Mr. Poston -- who has audited school systems with student populations ranging from 400 to 200,000, -- said the audit report did not contain "any major surprises''.

"What we found was not unusual,'' he said. "We found that Bermuda is very much committed to wanting to get better, which is good news.

"Bermuda is committed to excellence and improving the quality of its system.'' But Mr. Poston said he could not comment on details in the audit report until the final draft was completed.

"I'm hoping to have that done in about two months,'' he said. "There are some major changes that we have recommended. But they are just that, recommendations.'' Mr. Poston -- a member of The International Centre for Curriculum Management Auditing, Inc. -- noted that the "quality improvement review'' focused on five areas of the school system: Its ability to control resources, programmes, and personnel; Its objectives for students or curriculum direction; Its "internal connectivity and rational equity'' in its programme development and implementation; Its assessment of practices and programmes and feedback; and Its productivity.

Mr. Poston and his team of auditors also visited all schools, including early childhood centres.

"It is very important for us to do site visits to give us an understanding of the context,'' he said. "People were very hospitable and open.'' He also pointed out that auditing a school system during its transition -- as is the case with Bermuda -- could help education officials know if they were moving in the right direction.

While careful not to reveal details of his report until the Education Ministry had seen the final draft, Mr. Poston said: "If I had a continuum from the best to the worst, Bermuda is certainly one of the better systems that I've audited.

"Some distinctive features are its size, the personalisation that people provide, the commitment to learning which they bring.

"I've been in some systems which need some resuscitation. Bermuda was not one of them.

"Bermuda is a good system. It has problems like any other system. But it also has an opportunity for improvement.'' Mr. Dill said he was "very excited'' about the report.

"We're going to make it public,'' he noted. "Part of the reason for commissioning it was to be aware of what resources we have available and how they are being deployed.

"We couldn't and wouldn't keep this from the public.'' Stressing the importance of the unprecedented report, Mr. Dill said: "Our focus is on creating a first-class education system.

"That means that sometimes we are going to have to get involved in some self-examination and realise we have some weaknesses.''